A Game of Perfection
by Leo69
Summary: Tabby Alternative Universe. Abigail Cameron and her partner Isaac Kelly move over to work in England at Golden Sierra Public School as part of a teacher exchange programme from America. Across the corridor from heartthrob teacher, Edward Townsend, will anything good come of this exchange before the teaching year comes to a close?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Airplanes sucked. Abby had always loved travelling, but couldn't help but hate the way airplanes made her feel anxious and nauseous. It's probably her fears of heights and deep water being combined into one, should the plane face problems, which scared her. Despite the fact that she was an excellent swimmer, she could never shake the feeling. Immersing herself in book her mind casted to what her next few months would entail. She still couldn't believe she managed to grab this opportunity to teach at a prestigious English school, the experience would be great on her CV. The fact that her partner would be coming with her was an added bonus. Turning her head to survey her surroundings, her eyes met Isaac's who gave her a warm smile and turned back to watching his programme.

Reminiscing over the last year left a smirk on her face, the last thing she had expected was to meet Isaac Kelly. Having been neighbourhood friends since they were in middle school, he bumped into her when they had graduated from college. She had crushed on him since she was in middle school, but of course he was with the most popular girl in school who also happened to be a _bitch_ to everyone else. Isaac would remember catching her at school writing sheet music for her Piano, or running to class as she was late, often dropping her piano sheets as she did so. Or when he went home from school, he would hear the street filled with beautiful piano music as she perfected her pieces. He always adored her musical talent and it didn't surprise him when he found out that she was accepted into Juilliard. He himself went to Columbia where he majored in History, top of his class. Both had the burning passion to teach. Thus, it came as no shock that they got on like a wildfire.

Suddenly her stomach lurched as the plane trembled, closing her eyes she silently hoped that it would only last a few seconds. When the turbulence didn't cease, her nerves started to get the better of her, involuntarily she grabbed Isaac's hand, eyes glued to the window she was sitting next to. Pulling his earbuds out, he spoke softly to her, directing her attention at him, murmuring in her ear. Her eyes was the kind of green that was light, like when a green jumper has been washed many times that the colour becomes lighter, yet soft. When he ran his thumb over her hand in a repetitive motion, she smiled at him, her eyes dazzled him, making him realise that her smile had such a power over him. That smile could reach places that the sun couldn't and yet it would still ignite the soul.

" Only an hour away now, Abby." His voice broke her out of her spell.

"Mhm, about time." She breathed.

To her relief, they landed safely and headed straight for their apartment. It was pitch dark outside, the stars peeking through the dark rain clouds that shrouded the sky. The culture shock was starting to seep in as Abby took in the Britishness of country. Sure, she'd been dying to see England since she was little, like most Americans, but when she arrived, it was a surreal moment. All those stereotypical things that they were shown through the books and the media didn't compare to this. There was not a single tea drinker in sight, no accidental bumps into other people where they'd apologise profusely, on the bright side, it was raining. At least that was something she was familiar with. I gave up sunshine for a year of rain? She thought to herself.

Arriving at the apartment, drenched by the downpour, Abby headed straight for the shower whilst Isaac made a beeline for the bed. Once freshening up, she found Isaac fast asleep within no time.

"I'm not surprised. " She sighed, stifling a yawn herself. They both had a busy day ahead of them tomorrow. Walking to the bed, she clambered into the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning came too quickly for the pair to comprehend. Isaac had already awoken and was dressed, perched in a nearby chair admiring Abby sleeping. Her golden hair was a warmish hue of butterscotch and reddish tones that laid messily over her pillow, covering the majority of her face apart from her eyes. Long feathered eyelashes were shielding her beautiful eyes as she slept, they were endless, yet just as striking when her eyes were open. He could sit there staring at her forever but knowing that they needed to be at work in a short while had brought his admirations to a halt.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he shook her slightly causing her eyes to snap open, alert. Her gaze was harsh against the morning rays, she hastily rubbed her eyes as she glared at the time on her phone.

"Shit! Why didn't you wake me up?" She muttered, picking herself up from the bed and running towards her suitcase.

"You looked too adorable to interrupt. Besides, you got less sleep than I did, so I thought I'd let you sleep in."

"That's not possible! I set alarms, five minutes after each other in case I missed one." She said, ticking off the mental list in her head. _I thought I had so many precautions in place to avoid this…_

"Sometimes Abby, you're too much of a perfectionist for your own good." Isaac moaned, pulling his papers from his bag and scanning over them. Today was their first day at Golden Sierra Public School, he was replacing their previous History teacher, whilst Abby would be taking over the Music department and teaching classes as well.

Throwing on her pencil skirt and shirt, her outfit accentuated her curvy physique. Her waist was an hourglass, the intricate contours of her form were carved out, proportionately balancing her both on top and waist whilst still giving her feminine allure. Abby rummaged through her luggage to find her hairbrush. Once finding it, she brushed her hair smooth, then twirled half of her hair up into a half-updo, spending minutes to ensure her hair was presentable. Slipping her heels on, she dusted her face with a light coverage of makeup- _better go a little bit overdressed than underdressed…_ She swiped a coat or two of mascara and highlighted her prominent lips with a nude lipstick. Finally she picked up her bag, which she had already pre-packed and found her keys. Running her eyes over Isaac, she realised she hadn't even noticed what he was wearing.

The clothes he wore were sharp, a simple white shirt tucked in at the waist, all well-fitted. The way his clothes hung on his frame gave away the defined muscles beneath them. That body that turned heads wherever he went- some things never change with age, Abby thought, recalling her memory of how he'd been the teenage heartthrob of her school. His rich mahogany hair was cropped back and freshly cut which only emphasised the sharpness of his jawline. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as his green eyes flicked up to meet her view. Abby's mouth slightly agape, her lips parted as her expression gave her thoughts away.

"Why don't we leave before I decide to call in sick on behalf of both of us and play hookie?" He whispered, leaving cold shivers tingling her insides as he reached for the door.

Snapping out of her spell she nodded in agreement and followed him out.

"Am I mistaken in assuming you're our new exchange teachers?" A short woman approached them, holding a mug in her hands. She had hair the shade of ink that was a stark contrast against paper, her eyes brightened with an intensity when they landed on Abby, her smile almost seemed fake at that moment, but any indications of that had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Im Isaac Kelly and this is Abigail Cameron." He stated, bringing up a hand to shake hers, smirking.

"Ivory West, I teach Art here. It's a pleasure to meet you." She replied, giving him a dazzling smile as she held her hand in his. Isaac laughed as if they were old friends.

Disrupting their brief moment, Abby spoke.

"Should we get going?" She interjected, eager to get started.

"Of course! Please, follow me." Briskly walking through the corridor, masses of students passed by, all fresh and neat in their new uniforms, some of the young children looked like they were drowning in their clothes whilst the older children had clearly tried to find the loopholes in the shool uniform code and wore more _fitting_ pieces of uniform. Faint whispers filled the corridors as some students recognised the newness of the teachers that were walking amongst them. Catching a whisper or two Abby heard 'Do you think those are the American teachers?' Followed by some 'yeahs' and 'probablys'.

When the duo had appeared at the staffroom they were met by a sea of new faces, by the looks of it, eager for their arrival. Abby's eyes loomed over the room, settling on the group of adults that were scanning them from top to toe. Ivory crossed the room and met them and stood with a handsome tall man. His tousled black hair was thick and wavy, his deep blue eyes had a smouldering look about them, one look would simply leave you in a puddle on the floor. His face strong and defined. A smirk teased his lips.

"This is Edward Townsend, my husband."

"Ex- husband, thank-you very much."

"Those papers haven't gone through yet."

"Im counting down the days, _Ivy_."

"Edward Townsend. I'm the head of the English department." He began. His accent was thick and heavy, he struck her as the type of guy who could read a microsoft office manual and she wouldn't get tired of hearing his voice. Picking up Abby's hand he shook it and gave her a stern fixed look and nodded towards Isaac.

"You're our first Juilliard graduate to teach here, I'll admit, i'm very impressed." He said, surprise evident in his expression.

"Thankyou-"

"Just don't cock it up, I've watched so many other teachers manage to do so." Sighing, he shuffled his papers in his other hand and turned to leave. Gobsmacked at his bluntness, Abby glared at his retreating figure. _How rude!_

"Ignore him, he's a sour puss until he gets to know you." Another new lady appeared by them. An Italian accent seeped through her voice; she looked exotic with her olive skin and striking honey eyes with such warmth, reflecting the beautiful sun rays from the country she came from. She was voluptuous and stunning.

"Bonjourno, I am Florentina Lucca, I'm the head of languages. You must be Isaac and Abigail!" She sung, bouncing on the spot. _She literally is like a ray of sunshine..._

"Abby is fine, but thankyou, it's nice to meet you." Abby gave her an uneasy smile. Spinning around to see where Isaac had vanished to, she spotted him talking to another teacher. Catching her line of sight, Florentina disturbed her thoughts.

"That's Lucas Sheffield, head of geography. I'm afraid we don't have time to go over, but your classroom is opposite his, so you'll meet him soon enough." Staring at her watch, Abby thanked her, grabbed Isaac and made a beeline for the humanities floor. She wouldn't be late on her first day.


	2. Chapter 2

Edward

Another year has come around, and yet another new bunch of teachers have just started here. Typical.

"This is Edward Townsend my husband" I internally groan as this wretched woman reminds me of one of my greatest regrets of my life.

"Ex-husband, thank you very much." Why would she bother saying that to these new teachers? She knows I would definitely point out that we are currently going through a divorce. Maybe she's planning to do something? No matter, I do not care neither is it any of my concern. I pull myself away from those thoughts and focus on the new arrivals in front of me. The woman, Abigail, I think they said her name was, was rather attractive. Her green eyes were spectacular. I'd heard about her already, the teachers had been talking rumours about a Juilliard graduate coming to teach here since last year. I had not heard about the history teacher, who, by what I can see is probably in a relationship with her. _There's just something about him that seems odd, I just can't place my finger on it..._

I quickly introduced myself and paid her a compliment. If I hadn't have been watching her curiosity I wouldn't have noticed the slight blush that dusted her cheeks as I said it. But it was true, I was impressed. I also assume that the new male teacher came from some Ivy-league college. This school prides itself on having teaching staff from the best universities in the world. I myself graduated with a degree in English from Oxford university and Ivory the same but in Art instead. Yet, I hadn't encountered a Juilliard grad until that moment.

Despite the fact that she seemed harmless. She reminded me of the fact that I can't trust a beautiful face off the bat so easily. Even for a man of my age, I hate to say I haven't escaped trickery and fakery. Im certain that when I followed my compliment with an insult, it most definitely offended her. I shuffled my papers in my hand to find my lesson plans for the day and left. I have my class to get ready for, no woman was going to distract me, _not anymore_.

Believing that, I didn't think that only a mere few minutes after I would be running towards her classroom.

Abby

Its ridiculous, but I can't get over the fact that Townsend just insulted me like that. He doesn't even know me yet, and thinks he has the right to assume that I will fail at this job? Well, we will see about that. There's nothing I find more pleasureable than proving people wrong. I walk to my desk and lay out the notes I have made ready for today's lesson and familiarise myself with the classroom. To my surprise I found endless supplies of various instruments ranging from percussion instruments to guitars, keyboards and cellos. I leaned over to pick up a box of percussion instruments when I only at the last second discovered the cymbal teetering over the edge of the shelf, going straight for my head.

All I remember is my head feeling like it was on fire. I was on the floor, looking up to the ceiling, I met the gaze of a pupil who was staring down at me with concern across her face.

"Don't worry Miss Cameron, we've called for back ups." The girl looked about twelve or thirteen at most, freckled splayed her face and she wore her hair up in a long chestnut ponytail. Without thinking, I pulled myself up into a sitting position too quickly, the blood was rushing to my head so quickly. I felt around for the tender spot on my head, to my horror it felt hot and wet. I drew my hand back and saw dark, rich blood painted my hand.

"Oh, oh no, no, that's not good." My head was whirling.

"Ooh, I'm afraid you're going straight to the medical room, Miss Cameron." A voice came from behind me, one I didn't recognise. It was Australian. Instinctively, I turned around to meet my adresser. The blonde man looked like a surfer, with golden curly hair, or more like a surfer that had been forced to put smart clothes on, yet it still looked good. He had bright, curious blue eyes. He wore green chinos paired with a white shirt and navy suede shoes.

"Thank you for staying with her Violet." He flashed a megawatt smile at her. _Wow, is there not a single unatractive teacher at this school?_

"It's the least I could do, Mr Sheffield." The girl stammered, I'm not surprised, this man seemed like the teacher all the teenage girls would have a crush on.

Oh wait. This was the one humanities teacher I hadn't met yet.

"You're the Geography teacher?" I questioned him, I just thought he was a maths teacher or something. Taking a seat besides me on the floor besides me, eyeing the back of my head.

"I am indeed, the one and only Lucas Sheffield." He laughed, turning his megawatt smile onto me.

"Forgive me, I was hoping our first meeting would be on better terms." He joked. I couldn't suppress the laugh, I bursted out and regretted it as soon as I did. The room was spinning.

"I thought there was an emergency?" Edward stood at the door frame, watching us, trying to figure out whether he was needed or not. Two teachers giggling on the floor certainly wasn't what he classified as an emergency.

"No, there isn't an emergency, I am perfectly fine." I dismissed him, hand waving in the air.

"She's lying, Townsend, she's got a hefty concussion by the looks of it." Lucas halted me, maybe I was underestimating my injury.

Students started crowding into the classroom, only to stop in their tracks when they saw me.

"All students who have Miss Cameron for music right now, can you please wait in my classroom next door, thank you." Lucas instructed the students and we both watched them all file out, leaving the three of us teachers alone.

"I am so sorry to inconvenience you, I'll make my way there myself." I rose up, holding onto a nearby desk as I felt wave of nausea hit me, the room hadn't stopped spinning. I swayed, staggering towards the door. Edward crossed the room in two steps, steadying me. Lucas rushed to my side and linked my arm through his, then held onto that arm tightly.

"Let's go, Abby." He shot me a sympathetic smile. Edward moved away from the door and gestured for us to leave. I nearly missed his murmur as I passed by.

"Just as I thought. Hopeless." He muttered. Shaking his head, he retreated back to his class.

Lucas guided Abby down the hall and escorted her to the medical room. It took a lot longer than she had imagined, however she didn't take into account how slowly she was making Lucas walk.

"How's your day going so far?" Lucas teased.

"It's gotten off to a bumpy start, no pun intended." She moaned, first she woke up late, second she dealt with a crappy colleague and now she's gotten concussion too. She was convinced her day couldn't get much worse from here.

"So, geography, huh?" Abby started.

"Graduated from King's College London. If that's what you're asking." He raised his free arm to scratch his head, his eyes wouldn't meet hers. He was humble about his education, he wouldn't deny going to a prestigious university however he struck Abby the type that wouldn't gloat about it.

" Oh no, I wondered why you chose to teach it."

"Ah sorry about that, usually every teacher wants to know where I studied.." Abby shook her head and let him proceed.

"The planet Earth is one of the most complex systems in the universe, curiosity burns like a wildfire within me to explore every secret. I teach geography as I want my students to understand how we've come to be in this world." Abby watching him as he spoke, there was a deep passion that burned in his eyes and you could feel his enthusiasm for it in each word he spoke of it.

There was something about this man that seemed so friendly, as soon as she laid eyes on him she knew that she could speak openly to him. Who knows, maybe they would become friends.

"Why is Edward so cold?" She hadn't meant to say it but it had been playing on her mind the whole day. _He would've probably left me on the floor if he had gotten to me first._

Lucas sighed. "I wouldn't fret, he's like that with new people. He's a lovely chap, once he's warmed up to you."

 _I don't know about that._

Eventually the pair had reached the medical room. A displeased looking woman sat there, waiting for her arrival.

"Ah our concussion victim has finally come." The displeased woman marvelled at her and wondered just what excuse was about to come.

"Wow news really does travel round fast here." She joked to herself, the nurse still didn't look happy, especially after she examined her wound.

Lucas sat there and waited for her to have her head examined, once the nurse had finished examining her, she went off in search of the right equipment to dress her wound.

Leaning closer to her he spoke to her in a soft tone.

"Don't worry about Angela, she's just annoyed that she's had a new case to deal with so quickly is all." He smiled at her, and when Abby smiles back, his eyes brighten. I think we'll make good friends, she thought to herself.

On their way back to class, Angela's words kept replaying in Abby's head. 'Take it easy, you're still clearly disorientated from the concussion', she couldn't just abandon her classes today, she would fight onwards, lunch was coming up anyway. Rounding up her students and sending them back to class, she turned one last time to Lucas and murmured.

"I owe you one, Sheffield."

"Don't sweat it Cameron." He winked at her, grinning, disappearing into his class.

Before starting her class, Abby said a silent prayer and willed that she would get through her next few lessons. The next few hours saw the corridors of the humanities floor filled with the sounds of a piano, playing different pieces, softly yet flawlessly.

Lunchtime couldn't come any quicker. Her classes had gone exactly as she had planned them, there were moments where she was touch and go but she fought every single spell she had. Lucas waited outside her class for her, holding a couple of textbooks in his arms.

"Hey kiddo, how's the bumped head?"

"It's better, actually." She replied.

"Liar. But you've done well to get this far. Just give me a shout if it gets bad again, okay?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, assuring her. Abby dragged Lucas to the history classroom to see if Isaac had finished. Only to find his classroom empty.

"How about we go grab some lunch? He's probably in the staffroom." The pair strolled down to the staffroom once they had grabbed their lunch. The whole time they spent telling each other about themselves. The funniest thing she had heard Lucas talk about was the one time Lucas encountered a shark whilst surfing back home and how it stalked him, yet didn't harm him. Another victim fell prey to Lucas Sheffield, _even animals couldn't resist his charm_.

Pushing the doors open, all eyes laid on her. Edward and Florentina stared at me, Florentina shot her a sympathetic smile whilst Edward tensed. She found Isaac sitting with a coffee and chatting to Ivory. Once he has spotted her, he enveloped her in a hug.

"I heard what had happened! Are you okay?" Concern hung to him as soon as he head heard the news.

"This one's a tough cookie, mate. She really pulled through." Lucas explained, placing an arm around her shoulders and grinned. Out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn that Edward was watching. She didn't care, he was a waste of her time, if he didn't want to make the effort to get to know her, then neither would she. Pushing that thought aside, she took a seat aside Isaac and Ivory, Lucas joining them shortly after he had made a cup of tea. Their conversations flowed freely and mainly focused on what they had done that summer. Ivory mentioned how she had spent her summer touring Europe in search of a specific painting she was keen to add to her collection. Lucas had been visiting his family back in Australia, pulling photos up on his phone to show them. That smile was permanently glued to his face, Abby decided.

"I hate to say this Abby, but you're the talk of the school currently. The new music teacher who managed to knock herself out with a cymbal-"

"Don't remind her." Isaac and Lucas said in unison, clearly on the same wavelength. Groaning, Abby got up in search of some coffee.

In the near distance, she could hear Italian. Edward and Florentina were talking in it, Edward passing glances at her as he spoke. She thought maybe she was hearing things but thought better of it when she picked up on a concussion being mentioned. Why not listen in? She stood stoic at the counter, stirring her coffee.

"Lei è stato colpito alla testa ricevuto commozione cerebrale!" _She got a concussion!_ Edward cried out, stifling a laugh.

Florentina playfully slapped his arm, clearly disagreeing with the way he was speaking of it. "Poveri darling" _poor darling_ , she added.

"È patetico." _It's pathetic_. Edward complains, suddenly noticing Abby walking towards them, coffee in hand.

"Non essere cattivo, È il suo primo giorno!" _Don't be mean, it's her first day!_ Florentina scolded him, shooting him a warning look.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" She interjected, trying her hardest to give the impression she had no idea what had been said. Smiling widely, she leaned against the table, eager to hear their response. Edward stiffened ever so slightly.

Edward cut her Florentina before she could utter a word. "Nothing much, just discussing how the weather was-"

"In Italian?"

"Exactl-" Edward was catching on to what was about to happen.

"Capisco quello che stai dicendo." _I understand what you're saying._ Abby gave the dirtiest look she could muster.

Edward's eyebrow rose in surprise, his jaw set. _This woman is full of special tricks._

"Don't be absurd, you have no idea, _Abigail."_ Edward exaggerated her name, implying that she hadn't heard him openly insulting her, yet again. Turning his back to her face, he returned to the conversation he was having with Florentina.

He laughed, a deep throaty chuckle,changing to French. "Elle ne comprend pas cette langue" _She won't understand this language_. He said, switching effortlessly from Italian to French.

Leaning dangerously close to his face, she seethed. "Vous seriez surpris." _You would be surprised._ She stormed off, dropping her freshly made coffee into the sink and not turning back to look at anyone. Hands balled into fists at her side.

"Abby, what's the matter?" Isaac was quick on his feet, calling out to her, watching her dart for the door.

"Touché" Edward uttered, gobsmacked.

Lucas had been watching the whole encounter silently, once Abby had moved way he walked over.

"Not cool man. Not, cool."

Florentina smacked his arm, hard. " Tu es très sévère pour elle, Pas tout le monde est comme elle!" _you are too harsh on her, not everyone is like her_. It was the last thing Abby heard as she ran off. Tutting and shaking her head at him, Florentina picked up the remainder of her lunch and she Lucas out.

She was furious. This wasn't the first time someone upset her like this. She always found coming back to her piano would be the perfect medicine for her moods. Forgetting that she hadn't even explored the room's piano yet, she dropped into the seat and felt the keys beneath her fingers. It was a Yamaha CF6 Handcrafted Grand Piano in polished ebony that sat in the middle of the room. This piano reminded her of the one she would play back at college, it was absolutely spectacular. The mere shine of the instrument was bright enough to blind someone when the sun hit it. She played a few keys and closed her eyes, feeling for the keys she had imprinted in her mind. She pulled her music sheets out of her bag and fished for a pencil and her glasses. Placing headphones on, she started to play the composition she had already written.

The melody was solemn, her fingers moved gracefully, she wasn't simply playing the piano, she brought it to life. She wasn't merely strumming keys, she was caressing it. The piece was beautiful, but not perfect, yet. Every few moments, she would stop and etch in a new note into her sheet and replay it back to check, nodding when she agreed with the way it sounded back.

Townsend roamed the corridor, trying to find her. He had nearly failed until he had heard notes being played at the end of the corridor. Pursuing the sound, he discovered her perched by her piano. Her fingers moved with an impossible speed, playing each note perfectly. Her eyes were closed and her body moved with the music, swaying back and forth frantically her pianoforte was melancholy, it made Edward feel the complete opposite.

She was breathtaking. He was transfixed on the beauty that lay in front of him, her fingers waltzed on the keys, her golden hair from her gorgeous face moved with an unnatural wind. The whole room faded away, all he could focus on was her, he was transcended. When she finished he longed for her hands to return to the keys. Scribbling her note down, she removed her headphones and threw a hand in her hair as she read her sheets.

"I didn't lie when I said I was impressed by the fact you went to Juilliard." Abby's head snapped around to meet him. Yet again he was watching her from her doorframe. His shirt was rolled up to his forearms, revealing the veins that ran across his arms and his tie was loosened at the neck. His mouth twitched, he looked like he was fighting a smile. She was fighting her racing heartbeat, unsure of whether the piano was really controlling her emotions or if it was something, or _someone_ else.

Raising from her stool, she stood eye-level to him. Placing one perfectly manicured hand on her hips, she placed the other hand on the table and nodded for him to go on.

Finally noticing the coffee in his hand, she shot him a curious look.

"I suppose this is a peace offering." He mumbled as he handed her the mug. She glared at it as if he was handing her a cup of poison.

"Are you even sorry?" She scowled, eyeing the cup, her gaze piercing him.

"Yes, I am." He started.

"Sorry because I heard, or sorry that you got caught? Because let's be honest you're probably not sorry for saying it." Taking the cup of coffee she walked towards her piano and leant against it. The aroma of the coffee had filled her senses, taking a sip she stopped in surprise.

"How did you guess-" A hint of a smile playing at her lips. It was a coincidence that he knew what kind of coffee she liked. Edward sat down and shrugged his shoulders. When in reality, he had asked Isaac what kind of coffee she preferred.

"Lucky guess." Her head pounded, downing the coffee, she placed it on an adjacent table and took a seat besides him.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot Abigail." Edward started, not breaking her gaze. Her expression gave nothing away.

"You don't even know me yet, Townsend. To just hurl insults at me isn't fair, especially when I have given you no reason to do so." If looks could kill, this would be one of those moments, those green eyes reminded him of the forests he would explore as a child, but the expression cast in them brought back memories of when he was completely lost in them, with slight sense of anxiety mixed within.

She was right. He was unfair, but he knew deep down that by getting attached it would only end in his own destruction. She was a beautiful woman with a breathtaking talent, admitting that he was attracted to her and wanted to get to know her better was out of the question. That had never worked out for him in the past, so why bother repeating past mistakes. He wouldn't be made a fool of again for his mistakes.

"Why are you so rude?" She demanded.

"How did you manage to get concussion on your first day?." Deflecting her question

"It was an accident-"

"Rumour has it, you got knocked out with a falling cymbal." She glared at him. She was never going to hear the end of this.

"What? My students do talk, and I can't help but hear these things." He gave her an innocent look, as if hearing rumours about her was the most natural thing in the world.

"It's just I didn't expect someone as talented as you to manage to do something so stupid. I was under the impression that you were _intelligent_." He sighed, secretly watching how she was responding to his insults. She clearly wasn't the type to let insults heavily bother her, yet when he looked between the lines, he knew that eventually he would push her past the tipping point. _This may be fun._ He thought.

"How dare you-" Her face reddened at his words. How was he able to compliment her yet offend her at the same time. Her heart was hammering and she couldn't tell why.

"I could send you a class syllabus if that would help? I mean you would actually need to be able to teach first, which is the first hurdle that you failed to jump over." He spat, counting them off on his fingers as if it was an extensive list.

"If you'd like, I could give you some tips on relationships, as I couldn't help hearing that you're currently going through a divorce. You couldn't get over whatever hurdles were there. So how about you but out of my business instead of making it a talking point with other people?" She was getting too close, literally. Within seconds she was towering over him and looking down at him. His face grew serious. _Good, I struck a nerve._ She thought.

"Because, I assure you. Should you continue, two can play that game. And I _always_ win." She whispered. Edward also stood and repeated what she had just done. Raising her head to meet his stare, her mind started whirling with the scent of his cologne. It was a mix of sandalwood and his own musky scent. Only then did they both acknowledge how little distance there was between them. Using it to her advantage, she moved closer to him, causing him to back up as quickly as she moved towards him.

"You do not want to make an enemy of me, Abigail." He breathed, refusing to break his gaze. Catching onto what she was doing, he couldn't help noticing what was literally right in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed and his raked his gaze over her , mentally taking note of the curves of her voluptuous body as she was near pressed against him. Her chest was perky and in his line of sight, it wasn't his fault that his gaze lingered there. The hint of her collarbone peeked through her collar, the image etched into his mind. _No, I can't..._

Abby interrupted his thoughts. "Don't you worry about that, Townsend, you've already done that for me." She challenged him. Having backed him up against the closed door, a smug smile took over her face.

Edward sighed, not getting where he was aiming to. It had taken a completely different turn which was starting to test his willpower. "I was trying to apologise-"

"Clearly apologising isn't your strong suit. When you wish to try again, you know where to find me." Placing the still full cup of his 'peace offering' back into his hands, she gave him a sweet smile and turned her back to him.

"Oh and Townsend-"

He turned back around to her.

"Don't let the door hit you on your way out." She sang as she went back to her sheets, ready for her last class of the day.

All that Edward Townsend knew was that, Abigail Cameron is a woman that he had to limit any interactions with.


	3. Chapter 3

Isaac

Something's bugging her. She didn't talk much on the way home, but I guess I left it to the thought of her concussion limiting her conversations. Then again, Lucas told me that her and Townsend didn't get on too well, but he didn't say much either. Ivory told me that I shouldn't worry too much as he's apparently like that to all new colleagues. As a matter of fact, she's been really friendly today, shooting me grins here and then and trying not to leave me alone to struggle to find people to talk to.

"Isaac." Abby calls out my name.

"What's up, dumpling?"

"Can we just order in tonight? I really don't feel like cooking tonight." She grumbled.

Already reaching for my phone, I quickly find the nearest Chinese takeaway place that could deliver, and before I knew it we were sitting on the floor, eyes peeled to the TV watching a rerun of Friends, demolishing a takeaway.

She is absolutely beautiful. The dull light of the Television illuminates her face and I can see her bloodshot eyes a little bit clearer, the slight paleness of her face. She looks wiped out. Reaching out to her, I pull her into a gentle embrace, cradling her. Snuggling into me, I can hear her quiet shallow breaths. A waft of a floral scent overpowers my mind, I absentmindedly start stroking her hair as her eyes flutter closed. We sat there for a while, just like that, enjoying eachothers' company. Moving in my arms, Abby sent me a lazy smile, moving closer to my face. One hand came up to touch my jaw, her hand had the lightest touch. It made me shiver how just a simple touch could ignite my senses and have them dancing on end.

Those forest green eyes of hers had this power over me. One look left me in awe. I had never admitted it to her, but that smile of hers had always had a toll on me. It was a shame she never noticed it in high school, but my current girlfriend at the time had realised it and ensured her high school years were a living hell.

"I think I'm going to go." She sighed, releasing herself from my arms. Now that I thought about it, I did have some lesson plans to finish preparing. Dragging myself to my desk, I open up my planner and watch as papers fall out into a mess on my table. I can hear Abby retreating back to our room and flickering on the lightswitch.

I couldn't help but think about today's events. How humiliated Abby was and what a mockery she had been made of, teaching new students, and the over friendliness of Ivory. I chose to ignore that certain spark in her eyes as they laid themselves on me, concluding it to be down to meeting new colleagues. But then she popped into my class on breaks to see how I was getting on. And practically hung onto me at lunch. I didn't want to seem rude and dismiss her and I certainly wasn't immune to her charm, but I don't think I like her in that way.

I woke up the next morning to find myself alone. Dragging myself out of bed, I pulled my suit on and picked up a coffee as I made my way to work. I guess Abby wanted an early start today, I can't really blame her.

Crossing the halls the next morning wasn't as bad as Abby had anticipated it to be. She had later found out that Lucas had been issuing detentions to students who dared to talk about yesterday's events. She was awfully grateful to him, he had been a true friend to her since she first walked in. Her accident had become a thing of the past, thanks to him.

"Morning, Cameron." Lucas jogged to keep up with her brisk movements.

"Back at you, Sheffield." She responded, sending him a bright smile. Before she could speak any further, the soft sounds of the piano filled her ears.

"Oh about that, don't kill me, but I may have let someone into your room." She shot him a curious look, but then registered his words.

"Who's in there-"

Lucas' eyes snap to his watch, not daring to meet her glare. He picked up his jogging pace, starting to leave Abby alone.

"Would you look at the time, I think I may be running late." He yelled over his shoulder. It wasn't even remotely close to class time yet.

"Lucas!" Abby groaned, now slowing her stride to listen to the melody that wafted through the corridor, clearly coming from her classroom.

Upon reaching her classroom, her worst thoughts deemed true. He was there, perched on her stool, playing her piano well?

"What do you think you're doing?" She spat.

"Morning to you too. I'm playing a piece, its-"

"Sonata in D Major, Mozart." She said without missing a beat.

"Is your mind an encyclopedia of compositions?" He said, abruptly stopping, somewhat surprised by her musical mind.

"No, you'd be surprised I'm actually a human underneath it all." Crossing the room towards him, she focused on him.

"About that, Cameron-" He started.

"The brilliant thing about this composition is that it sounds beautiful with a single player however with an extra set of hands it turns into a spectacular melody." Sitting besides him, their shoulders brushed as she set herself to work on one set of the piece, whilst Townsend played the other.

Abby's fingers pounded the Pianoforte, blaring loudly, whereas Townsend fingers ran lightly over his keys, making it a soothing accompaniment. Their hands would cross each others now and then, each moment of contact left her mind going crazy. She nearly lost track of her part multiple times, however she maintained her composure, refusing to acknowledge that he had any form of power over her.

Time had seemed to have frozen as they played, all Townsend could focus on was everything but the piano he was playing. Her eyes were closed and he could see that she wasn't playing, she was feeling the keys underneath her fingers, her body rocking back and forth with a strength. A strong aroma of berries flooded his senses, leaving him breathless. Her image was all that his mind could think of in that moment. How angry he had made her, the raw emotion that flickered across her face before she covered it with, what looked like to him, a well constructed facade. It was nearly an effortless coverup. He couldn't help being a good judge of character, and he wouldn't refuse that he tested her when he first met her.

Lost in his thoughts, the piece came to an end, Abby opened her eyes to find Townsend staring at her. Her heart started thumping at an abnormal rate. His jet black hair was tousled perfectly, it complimented his smart yet distressed look- with his tie loosened at his neck and a top button undone and his sleeves rolled up at his forearms. And then those ocean-blue eyes of his were watching her with such a curiosity. He leaned closer to her, ever so slightly, Abby swore she could see different shades of blue in his eyes, they weren't just dark, there was light to them in the freckles of baby blue that peeked through the darkness. So stark yet often unnoticed. She was starting to realise maybe there was some light to him too that she just didn't understand yet. His jaw tensed as he caught sight of her head injury. A single hand came out and lightly touched her head gently, Abby pulled back instantly.

"You really do have quite the injury." He whispered, eyes transfixed.

"Why are you being nice now?"

 _I wouldn't use nice as one of the adjectives I'd use to describe you. Not when I crave to have you on top of that piano..._

"I have a hard time trusting women that enter my life. It's a defence mechanism I have in place, a first defence to new people, if you will." He admitted.

"So you're saying you're _nice_?"

"I'm saying that I wasn't being myself. I was being cautious, it's easier to not grow attachments, they end up destroying you." Townsend objected, his eyes darted across the room.

"That leaves you all by yourself though."

"Sometimes I think being alone in this world is easier." Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, Abby's eyes followed his movement, he clearly had a very legitimate reason for thinking that. Her gaze bore into his, Townsend worried that if she looked hard enough, she would see all his problems.

"I think you're wrong, Townsend."

"In your opinion, Cameron, maybe I am. But in my belief, I am not." He retorted. Those beautiful eyes of hers wouldn't break away, wide with interest. He was so close to her, his body felt warm and his hands slightly tingly from where their hands had touched during the piece.

Her face broke into a warm smile that had his mind going into overdrive. "Abigail Cameron. But you can call me Abby." Holding out a hand to him, he took it in his and gave it a firm shake. She wouldn't give away any indication that the mere gesture had left her hand feeling as if she had just been burned. It was like a pyromaniac holding their hand out to an open flame and touching it, knowing all too well that it would burn, but being inquisitive enough to do it in the first place.

"Edward Townsend. Sorry I don't have a nickname." He started, and stopped as he heard a knock on her door.

A grinning from ear to ear Lucas cruised in, followed by a smug Florentina who was smirking.

"Sorry Lucas, but that will be £20." She sung, holding out her palm to him.

Lucas grumbled and reached into his pocket and pulled out the note to hand to her. She beamed at the duo.

"I've told you, the piano is always the answer. Who isn't swayed with a piano." Her voice was silky and effortless, the manner in which she spoke was soft and teasing.

"No, you know she specialises in the piano and used it to your advantage-" Lucas started, rolling his eyes but clearly enjoying the banterous exchange they were having. Oblivious to the fact that Abby and Townsend were listening to the whole thing. Townsend shot daggers at Lucas.

"No, I knew that Edward plays the piano nearly as well as she does and thought why not give it a shot." She shrugged, sending Townsend a knowing look which he rolled his eyes in response to.

"So this was all an act?" Abby snarled, she had ignore the gut feeling she had gotten about him. Demanding that Townsend would give her an explanation.

"Sorry to interrupt kiddo, but Eddie here had no idea about our plan. We simply lured him into your classroom and may have locked the door until you entered." Lucas dictated, Abby could see Townsend's jaw clenching, maybe this was the first he was hearing of this too.

"Whatever happened in the time you two were locked in was completely down to you." Florentina interjected, patting Abby on the shoulder and giving Townsend a thumbs up.

"I should've known! I had an inkling that you two shared an evil glint earlier in the staffroom but decided not to bother asking." Townsend swore.

"I'm sorry guys, but the tension between you two was so intense, you could've cut it with a knife." Lucas wailed, his hands flailing in the air.

"Yes, Lucas is right. And we, were the knife." Florentina leaned against a table, arms crossed with satisfaction.

"I appreciate the concern guys, but I am capable of handling my own issues." Townsend gravely insisted.

"Why didn't you say that you'd been locked in?" Abby questioned him.

"I caught on quite quickly what was happening, and secretly thanked them for creating a situation where I could explain myself." Edward professed, looking ashamed.

"Also, Edward is too modest. He is also talented on the piano so I knew placing him in a room with one, even if he knew he was locked in, wouldn't have caused so much trouble." Florentina blurted. Townsend was up in a swift fluid motion and had cupped her mouth shut.

"If I know Edward right, he probably thoroughly enjoys listening to you play." Lucas continued, Abby looked to Florentina who, with her mouth still covered, nodded frantically.

"Guys, can we not tell my life story to her please?" Edward moaned, removing his hand from Florentina's mouth.

"You didn't deny it Eddie." Florentina sung, shoving Townsend, who looked at everything but Abby.

"Wait, were we locked in together in the end?" Abby spun on Lucas.

"I guess you guys were so into the music you didn't even notice me and Florentina locking the door. However neither of us could predict what would've happened so we locked it and kept nearby." Lucas shared a smile with Florentina who gave him a high five.

"You conniving little genuises-" Townsend grunted and spared a second to look at his watch.

"Now it's actually time that I leave. Lucas, Florentina, Abigail, I'll see you guys at lunch." Making a swift exit, he avoided Abby's eyes and left the room without another word.

"It's Abby-"

With that, the other teachers said their goodbyes and filed out and returned to their classrooms, ready for the day.

What had just happened? He adores her music. There was an undeniable current there that she couldn't deny, but she couldn't define it either. She noticed it the day he came and tried to apologise, but dismissed it. This time it was there again and she couldn't ignore it. Was his eyes lingering on her the whole time she was playing the piano? Is that why her heart hammered in her chest? Why was her heart racing? Her mind whirred as she settled down into her chair and watched as her students arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

_Merry Christmas to my awesome readers! My apologies on the lateness but this chapter is REALLY big, I hope you enjoy!_

Chapter 4

"How are you finding teaching in England?" Isaac prods Abby as they got onto the tube.

Dropping less than gracefully into a vacant seat, Abby sighed. It was hard to describe her experience so far in a few words. It had been infuriating, amazing, complex and difficult to say the least. Her relationships with her coworkers was questionable besides with Lucas- he was the only teacher that she knew she would definitely stay in contact with once she had finished her year abroad. It was a challenge, but Abigail Cameron was not a woman that backed down from a challenge.

"Oh, I'm loving it." She mustered, faking a rather believable smile.

Not even looking up from his phone, he nodded in agreement and muttered a 'that's nice.'

Huffing, Abby turned her gaze to Isaac, refusing to stare at the tube advertisements anymore. British people were so weird, she'd made eye-contact with a person and they snapped their eyes away harshly. She guessed that maybe that person was shy but then she noticed the pattern that nobody looked at each other on public transport. _How strange._

A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and she was pretty sure he was fighting a smile. He is so adorable when he smiles. But he wasn't even looking at her, his phone seemed to be taking all of his attention.

"What's got you all happy there?" She laughed, peering over his shoulder to see what was amusing him so much. Regretting it as soon as she had done it.

It was a text from Ivory. Her face scrunched up as she thought of the woman who had been getting comfy with her partner. Well technically, texting wasn't getting 'comfy' but hey, a girl can't help being paranoid sometimes. There was a whole conversation that they had been having which she assumed had been why he was ignoring her and barely responding to her. _Goodness, he seems like a teenage boy._

"Oh this? It's nothing- we were just talking about the humanities teachers' conference that's coming up in Kent in a week's time-" She had heard a few teachers talking about it but thought it was just a rumour. It had never come to her attention.

"Ooh talk about a holiday at work, when we go we could book a hotel room for the night while we are up there?" Abby suggested, the idea had quickly formed in her head and she was already excited.

Turning to meet her, he had an evil glint in his eye.

"That, Abigail cameron, is an _excellent_ idea." He whispered huskily in her ear, illiciting a blush from Abby.

"The school has already booked rooms out for us at a hotel nearby, so we could share a room." Isaac said, sighing and returning to his text message conversation.

"Already exchanging numbers huh? Going a tad bit too fast, don't you think?" Abby joked.

"What? No, not at all. We are just friends." He spoke way too fast.

"Why do you have her number?" Abby shot back.

"Because we are friends?"

"No, me and Lucas are friends. And we don't have each other's numbers-"

"It's different. She wanted to contact me about some historical art pieces- she's doing her PhD currently and wanted me to confirm some of her sources for her."

"Are you sure that's it, Isaac? You can talk to me you know." She wasn't blind, she could see her flirting with him. And what was worse was that he either was so enthralled by it that he didn't notice, or maybe he chose to ignore it. Was he flirting back?

"Trust me Abby, you have nothing to worry about." He laced his hands through hers and kissed her forehead. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts from her mind. Maybe she was overthinking it all.

The next day rolled on just as quickly. Making her way down her halls, she couldn't help but hear the beautiful melody that was coming from her room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a voice accompanying the song that was playing. She recognised the song that was being played and genuinely for a second wondered who singing.

" _If i just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world-"_

Standing at the door of her room she sighed. To her surprise he sang too, she guessed it made sense that considering how talented he was at playing the piano, it would've been a let down if he couldn't sing. She didn't want to break up this lovely scene and left him to continue until he had finished.

"Am I going to constantly find you by my piano every day?"

Townsend flinched and silenced the piano.

"Good morning Abigail, I needed to talk to you, and your door was unlocked so-" He confessed, standing up and meeting her level gaze. Today Abby fashioned a pair of auburn knitted tights with a skirt accompanied by a shirt with heeled boots. Her hair swept up into a mess of curls secured into a golden ponytail. She gave him a warm smile, leaning against the door frame of the door.

"I came to ask you about the teacher's conference that's coming up."

"Ask away?" She shot Townsend a quizzical look, watching him straighten himself up, rolling his sleeves back down and slinging his blazer back on. His electric blue blazer matched his deep blue eyes. Her eyes lingered on just how _form fitting_ it was. He caught her staring. His lips lifted upwards, revealing a dimple on one side.

 _This is ridiculous Abby, get yourself together!_

 _Hold up, is he smiling? Oh god, he's smiling_.

She could feel her stomach doing flips as he brushed past her, walking to the door. Sighing, she brushed a stray curl out of her face and moved past him to sit at her desk. Placing her apple on the desk she started unpacking her bag.

"We hadn't heard any confirmation about if you were attending and thought to ask." Townsend had changed his mind and inched closer to her desk. Abby attempted to keep her cool composure as he drew near. Picking up his tea that sat on Abby's desk, he laughed as he saw her expression. Her senses were flooded with the smell of earl gray tea, she wasn't sure if the tea was stronger or the scent of it coming off from him was.

"Nobody told me about it. I only found out yesterday through Isaac-" She huffed.

"It's something the humanities team attend every year, I just assumed you'd be coming?" Edward added, running a hand through his hair. Tentatively watching Abby and the clues she was giving away during the conversation. As he had predicted, she followed his movements from the corner of her eye whilst seamlessly upholding conversation.

Abby smiled sweetly at him and signalled for him to take a seat.

"I'm flattered that you decided to take time out to come and pester me about this conference-"

"Well technically it wasn't voluntary-" Edward interjected, wrapping his hands around his tea mug. Abby rolled her eyes in response.

"Whatever, yes I will be going. I just have to sort out the hotel booking."

"Oh, you dunce. The school has already made all the arrangements."

"Ah yes, I remember hearing about that too."

"Oh, that reminds me of why I'm _actually_ here." His face dawned upon realisation. He shuffled in his seat for a second before meeting her gaze again.

"Roomates have to break the news to each other." He started.

 _Roommates?!_ "What?"

"Turns out we've been situated next to each other."

"Just so you know, I am not sleeping in the same bed with you." Abby blurted. There were traces of colour over her cheekbones as her eyes widened in response to his words.

"No Abigail, we have conjoining rooms. It's been picked randomly by the school and I know for a fact that you can't switch rooms which I'm sure you want to do. Trust me last year- me and Mr Francatelli had to share a room and that _did not end well_. What I was here to tell you that as I guessed you may not have known that."

"Oh." Her voice dropped and so did her gaze. Suddenly she couldn't look at him anymore.

Mumbling under her breath, she rummaged through her bag for her pencil case. Shaking her head as if she was dismissing a thought, she returned to her bag and pulled out a stripy pencil case. Stopping suddenly with her hand in her bag, she looked around the room frantically.

Edward lifted up a small notebook in his hands.

"Looking for this?" He smirked. Abby let out a huge sigh of relief at the sight and took the book out of his hands.

Abby's phone lit up with a notification. Once she glanced over, she cursed softly.

"If you wanted to share rooms so badly, you should've just said." He said mockingly, getting the idea that she wanted to be left alone.

"I did not say that!" Abby objected, crossing her arms across her chest, her brows furrowed.

"So you are correct, however your expression tells another story." He laughed at her reddening face, that was now scrunched up in annoyance. He laughed and scratched the back of his head. He couldn't help thinking her current state was cute. _What a tease!_

Heaving himself up from the chair, he stole Abby's apple swiftly and bit into it whilst strolling out. The crunch from the apple was the only indication of the fact he had taken it. Abby had noticed the small splatter of juice that has splashed his face.

"Hold on a second." Abby shouted at his retreating figure. Edward turned to face her, holding her apple as far away from her as he could. He grinned at her storming towards him, her hand clenching at her side. For a second he was worried that she was about to take a swing at him.

"Finder's keeper's Abigail." he said, she drew even closer, her hand coming up towards his face. Taken aback by her forwardness, he felt himself glued to the spot, bracing himself for whatever came next.

Sighing heavily, Abby brushes her hand softly over his lower jaw. Edward watches her with a curiosity, wondering if now would be a good time for a sarcastic remark. The softness of her hands really took him by surprise. The moment went so slowly in her head when it probably happened in a matter of seconds. Her body was dangerously close to his and yet it looked to him like she hadn't even noticed. His lips parted slightly in response as he kept his eyes trained on hers, her gaze lingered on his jawline that made him feel the same way that he did when he played the piano with her. Once she had removed the small patch she stepped away and Edward tensed momentarily which he quickly replaced with a low cough as he moved away.

Nodding her head at the half eaten apple in her hand, Edward chuckles.

"You owe me an apple now." Abby moaned

He grinned at her, the slightest sign of a smile teased the corner of her lips at the sight. She shook her head and

"Stop smiling like that, it's not funny, I like my apple." She smacked his arm.

"Are you one of those people that have an apple a day?" He mocked her, raising his eyebrow at her serious face.

Abby ignored him and straightened her shirt. Her button seemed to be catching her attention as it was undone.

"Oh come on Abigail. Cheer up I'll make it up to you with lunch." He bumped into her, trying to pry a smile out of her.

She shuffled in the spot she was in, Edward couldn't get a read on her at that point.

"I'm busy-"

"That's a subtle way of saying no. Fine I'll make it dinner." He dismissed the thought and dug around his pocket for his keys.

"That's a bit much?" She shot him a hesitant look

"I take all the newbies out as a friendly gesture." He shot back.

"Oh I can't-"

"It's non-negotiable. Look, someone needs to take you to the good places around here and I don't think you know the best eateries in London." He held his hands up in surrender, students had started to enter the hallway, ready for their form time.

Catching on to the students coming down the hall, Abby sighed and agreed. _He's really stubborn._ Giving him a nod of approval, she hurried him along, almost swatting him away so that she wouldn't give the students something new to gossip about.

"Dinner it is, Cameron." He leaned in close and Abby jolted.

Slipping one hand into his trouser pocket, the other had gone to run through his hair, he turned back around and winked at her before retreating to his own classroom.

 _Woah, was that necessary?_

She could hear his laughter, his deep chuckle filled the hallways whilst a warmth filled her insides leaving her as conflicted as ever.

Townsend POV

To be honest, I should've anticipated that she probably wouldn't have been happy to see me playing her piano again. Especially not after what happened last time. I really had to distract myself from the last time she decided to play with me.

I was enthralled by the music, I couldn't help singing. The room smelt like berries and I could see all the little personal touches she had started to make to her room. Student achievement awards were posted across display boards alongside music sheets for different instruments. Curiosity sparked within me when I caught notice of her notebook that she had been scrawling her notes in the other day. Call me a bad guy, whatever. But I really wanted to know what she was working on.

Opening her book, the title of her composition caught my eye, 'A Game of Perfection' was scrawled across the top of the page with a question mark against it. Intricate detailing of the notes she had written down. This piece would sound amazing when played, I could already picture it. I could already see all the pieces falling into place perfectly at the thought of when she would play it. But there was just a few things that I thought could be improved, pulling a pencil out of my blazer, I added a few extra alterations to her work.

"Am I going to constantly find you by my piano every day?" I could feel her presence in the room as soon as she walked in. The room filled with the scent of apples, cliche as it sounds, _I know._

I stand up and straighten myself out- I couldn't resist watching how she responded, it was too intriguing. There's something there- I can feel it, but am I just being overconfident?

"Just so you know, I am _not_ sleeping in the same bed with you." Is she crazy? Goodness, she really never heard about the conference talks before.

Oh, she's blushing _hard_. To be fair, she did just insinuate that I would sleep with her- which I wouldn't. I'm a gentleman after all, I do not pine after women who are taken.

I'm quick to reassure her of the fact that nothing would happen and that there would be a safe distance between us. Yet, it does make me wonder, why is she would worried about there not being distance. Does she think that the way I act towards her would indicate that I would? _Fascinating._

I catch a glint of a smile as she moves past me to get to her desk. The smile dissolved as she realised that she couldn't find her notebook. Smirking to myself, knowing I had the upper hand, I pulled the small notebook out of my blazer pocket and held it up.

"Looking for this?" I leaned closer to her and handed her her notebook. I could tell that she was relieved, the bunch of stress lines that had bunched up on her forehead had straightened out.

I was too tempted to bring up the conjoining rooms topic after the way she had reacted, just bringing it up again got her flustered. It's a really cute look on her.

I decided it was best to leave before she had properly registered that I had held onto her notebook and may have tampered with it. Swiping the apple from her desk, I took a big bite out of the granny smith apple and dashed for the door.

In the distance I could hear her yelling at me. I turned around to watch her draw nearer with a determined look on her face. She places a hand on my face, wiping away something. I can feel the heat from her fingertips coming into contact with my face and it takes me back to the electric current that has been burned into my mind ever since we played her piano together. It's funny the look on her face seems so concentrated yet she doesn't dare look me in the eye. There's a hesitancy in her eyes, it's as clear as day.

"You owe me an apple now." My smile came so easily to me at that point she seemed uneasy, I felt kind of bad for her. There was the smallest hint of a smile that toyed with her lips, I knew she was fighting the urge to not smile. I bumped shoulders with her, subtly pleading for a beam to return to that face of hers.

I couldn't tell you why dinner popped into my mind first, but it wasn't such a bad idea, I suppose. Lying through my teeth I genuinely thought she would've caught on but I had a feeling she did but she wouldn't call me out on it. Afterall, it was a way of getting to know her properly without the restraint of work placing pressure on her. Yet again, she looked at me with those hesitant eyes, her mouth forming a line.

Finally getting her to agree to my conditions I left her to deal with her students, sending her a friendly smile over my shoulder as I left the corridor. Her arms were crossed and her head looked down, but I could see it. She was _definitely_ hiding a smile.

"Today, ladies and gentlemen we will be looking at... drumroll please, Andre."

Florentina points to a chipper student who sits at his desk eagerly. He pushes the messy curls of his hair out of his eyes and grabs his pair of drumsticks from the pocket of his blazer. Hitting his sticks against the desk, the class all joint in unison by drumming on their laps.

"Conversational Italian!" She sung, followed by multiple groans in the back of the classroom. At least the younger years were more enthusiastic at the start than the older years. Gathering the textbooks from the shelve, she started distributing them out.

"Miss Luca!" A young girl calls her name.

"Yes, Lucille?" She rumages through her bag to produce an envelope that has her name labelled on it.

"Oh, what's this?" Florentina's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Something that I was told to pass on to you." She shrugged, avoiding eye contact yet somewhat forcing the envelope into her hands.

"Very well, thank you Lucille." Florentina laughed, shaking her head, trying to get rid of the silly smile on her face.

"Now then class, let's get started-" The sound of page turning filled the room, a student started to speak Italian to another whilst the other students observed. Dropping into her chair at her desk, she started to instruct the students on conversational pointers and helped them correct their pronunciation every now and then. It was only when she opened up her e-mails did she notice the message that caught her attention within seconds.

'URGENT- RESPOND _ASAP_ ' _\- L._

It had an invitation attached that requested that she would meet him in his classroom after lessons had ended for the day. Casting her mind aside from the problems of Lucas Sheffield, she remembered the envelope that was sitting atop of all the books on her desk. Ripping it open, she could see a simple note scrawled down in red marker followed with the words 'check your emails.'

 _This man is absolutely crazy._

"Yes Francine?" Isaac halts his lecture to answer the bright eyed brunette student. Her blazer was cluttered with badges on both sides and he couldn't help but notice the one badge that stood out from the rest, he assumed was her prized possesion. _Head Girl._

"How detrimental was the effect of the Reichstage Fire, Mr Kelly?" The room filled with a mixture of sighs and groans at her question.

"That's an excellent question, Francine. The Reichstage fire put a block- if you will, on left and centrist political parties at the time. Some argue it allowed the Nazi party to come into power as one of the most prominent right-wing political parties." He explained, taking a seat in his chair. Looking at the clock he had realised that the end bell was about to ring and ordered his class to pack up.

Five minutes later his classroom had been emptied of students. Sighing to himself, he picked up the pile of workbooks that he was yet to mark and grabbed his red pen from his desk. Isaac marks about five books before he gets disrupted by a familiar face.

Today she wore a pencil skirt with a cream silk blouse that had been unbuttoned slightly. Her hair was curled and stark, contrasting beautifully with her perfectly applied mascara on her lashes. Her entrance demanded his attention, also she was wearing kitten heels _which made her movements loud._

"Isaac, just the man I was looking for." Ivy purred, placing the sheets she held up onto his desk. Brushing his shoulder, she took a spare chair and sat besides him.

"Hey Ivy, is this about your PhD work?" Isaac smiles warmly at her, his eyes flittering to her sheets on his desk.

"Absolutely, I wanted you to check the historical validity on this piece I wrote." Nodding her head in agreement, she leaned closer to him and flipped through the pages, trying to find a specific one.

Isaac snuck a glance at her, her face was fixed on her work as she held the page between her perfectly polished fingers. Carefully constructed curls framed her face that should've made her look harsh looked the exact opposite. It gave her a softer angle which took him by surprise. She had always been depicted by others as a devious, conniving teacher but honestly he really couldn't see how. The soft smile she gave him was making him feel slightly hot under the collar.

"Isaac?"

"Hm? Oh, yes?"

"Page 37, right here. I thought it would be ok to use but then the historical validity issue arose and I thought who best to ask than you." Shrugging her shoulders, it was evident that she seemed anxious. Scanning the page he could see that she had nothing to worry about, she had written a fantastic piece, she definitely had a talent for writing about art. Shuffling in her seat, she waited expectantly, not looking at Isaac even once.

 _She doesn't think her work is good enough?_ Turning to her, Isaac placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and waited for her to meet his line of sight. She hesitantly turned to meet it, her face twisted in preparation for bad news.

"Miss West, I have to say this is-"

"God Isaac, just tell me if it's crap." She breathed, worry lines bunched at her forehead.

"A stellar piece of writing." He smiled, giving her a light squeeze on her shoulder. Her straight face lit up into a beautiful smile he couldn't help but admire.

Neither of them had noticed who had coincidentally seen that on her way to the staffroom.

"Florentina!" Lucas calls her as she walks through the staff room doors. The warmth of his smile practically radiated off of him, getting everyone to smile around him with that blinding smile of his. Perched on a stool with him was Abby, who seemed to be laughing away at a joke he had just made.

Florentina tensed at the sight. She scanned the room for him and couldn't find him. Lucas was making a beeline for her at that moment and she hadn't noticed. Wrapping her in a hug she gave him a sheepish smile, accepting the hug, looking over his shoulder desperately trying to spot him.

Breaking the hug, Florentina steps away from him leaving Lucas in the same spot.

"Flo?"

"We'll talk later Lucas, I'm busy right now." She responded, not looking back. He looked confused for a moment at her odd behaviour but went back to his table with Abby. Finally Florentina laid eyes on him talking to a pretty blonde teacher, sharing notes over their lunch.

"Why is it impossible to find you?" Florentina exclaimed in an exasperated tone.

Looking up from his sheets, all it took was one look at her face and he quickly excused himself from the conversation he was having.

"Forgive me Louise, I'll get back to you." He said. The blonde smiled and left him.

Dragging him outside by his arm, he grew worried at her silence.

"Florentina, Tu me fais peur." _You're scaring me._ Edward hissed at her, her nails were digging into his arm, hard. Her face was turning white as a sheet. Moving her claws off his arm, he turned her towards him and looked her squarely in the eye.

"Oh Eddie, c'est elle." _It's her_. She cried.

"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?" _What's wrong?_

"I can't believe it, that cheek of that woman." Her fists clenched at her side, her lips held tightly.

"It's Ivy isn't it?"

"Sì, quella donna sta giocando" _Yes, that woman is playing._

"Just say her name _."_ Edward sighed, his shoulders dropped in retreat.

"I refuse to, she is what you call scum _."_

"What's happened, Flo." Edward folded his arms against the harsh wind, Florentina shivered slightly. Instinctively, Edward shrugged his blazer off and handed it to her.

"I know i'm not seeing things Eddie. She is going to steal that Isaac away from Abby."

"Flo, why are you telling me about this? This is none of my business."

"Yes, but Ivory-" She stammered.

"Ivory has made it clear what her intentions are and I have acted accordingly to that."

"Ivory is an adult, she is able to do whatever she wishes. All that's different is that I couldn't care less."

"But Abby, she needs to know."

"Ivory won't hurt you again. I won't allow it. I'm going to warn Abby." She stormed off. Edward jogged after her and caught her by her arm.

"You will do no such thing."

"But if she finds out for herself it will hurt her deeply."

"So will you telling her, the idea that she finds out through someone else is also just as insulting."

"Oh mi amore, you worry about her. I can see you care about her, it's as bright as day."

"Yes, as a co-worker. I worry about coming across badly to my colleagues." Florentina's mouth curved into a sly smile, her eyes squinted.

"You say that now, Eddie, but you'll eat your words." She warned him.

The school had become a ghost town merely 45 minutes after the final bell had rung today.

How pompous could he be? Abby let out a frustrated sigh.

Drawing nearer to his desk, she pulled out her notebook from her stack of books and held it up with a face of disgust. Edward almost smirked at her hurried entrance until he recognised her facial expression. His mind whirled with thoughts of her having found out about Isaac.

"I'm sure that here in the UK, you don't take other people's property and then vandalise it. I can sure as hell tell you that we do not do that in America." She roared, dropping her books onto a desk with a loud slam.

Edward flinched. Regaining his composure as quickly as he had temporarily lost it, he inched away slightly. _At least it wasn't about Isaac._

"Technically Abigail, I didn't _vandalise_ your book." He started, eyes trained on hers, his hand toying with the watch on his wrist.

"You had no right to do that!" She shouted, drawing closer to him with every word that she spat out. He caught her lip trembling as her expression changed. Her eyes stung as she tried to keep her tears at bay.

His stomach lurched at the sight.

" _Oh sugar_ , I didn't realise it was that important to you. I just thought that it had a few alterations needed, I assumed you wouldn't mind." Edward shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets and giving her a sympathetic look.

"That composition is all I have left of-" Abby's voice cracked, quickly covering her mouth, she refused to have him look at her. Hastily searching her pocket for a tissue she looked up to see a handkerchief held out to her. The silky handkerchief bore his initials in the corner in a monogram.

"No thank you. You've done enough damage as is." She said in a hushed tone. Rejecting his offer, she turned to pick up her pile of books, she realised leaving now would save her from any further embarrassment she would get herself into if she decided to stay. Wiping the fallen tears with the arm of her cardigan she picked up her books and made her way to the door. The steps she took faltering ever so slightly.

"Abigail, please wait-"

She could feel his presence closely behind her. Everything in her was saying to ignore him and leave but her mind controlled her actions. She felt his touch on her arm. Her eyes grew wide. Gently taking the books out of her arms, he discarded them on the table. Before she could protest he had enveloped her in a hug. His arms wound around her shoulders. The hot tears burned her face as they flowed freely. Abby stood there stoic, deciding whether it was okay to accept the hug. All he could feel was her hair tickling his arms. It had taken her seconds before she hastily pushed him away, looking him squarely in the eye, creating a safe gap between them.

"Please don't cry, I had no malicious intent. Here, sit down." He pulled out a chair for her and sat across from her. Taking the handkerchief offered to her, she dabbed at her tear stained face, attempting to salvage whatever makeup she still had left on.

"My brother Logan was magnificent at the piano. Every time he played, it was pure magic. He was my greatest inspiration when I learnt to play the piano as a child. My mother had always hoped my older sister, Rachel would pursue music but I chose that path instead. She went on to be a glorified headteacher in the US. "

"I know that it doesn't help but, you play just as beautifully." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank you." She replied, casting glances at the book that sat in her hands.

"He was working on this piece before he died, he gave it to me to try and find the 'missing piece' he was adamant that I would know what it was." Abby laughed to herself, casting a glance at Edward. He was immersed in everything she was saying, he had a sad smile on his face, a small line sat at the top of his forehead as he scrunched his eyebrows.

"Can I ask what happened?"

"He lived life to the fullest. He was the kind of boy that was a daredevil and so optimistic about life. He had gone to France to ski with his friends and had a fatal accident that left him terminally paralysed." Abby sighed, pushing a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"He went to Switzerland last year to end his life-" Abby paused, she could feel her voice wavering- "Logan couldn't stand to look at a piano anymore after the accident. He was no longer able to play what he loved. That's why he gave me his work." Her hands trembled as she felt the tears fall, some dropping onto the book in her lap.

"I didn't know. Oh Abigail, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am-" he started, shifting in his seat, "I have something that may help you feel better, but on the condition that you sit here for about ten minutes and wait for me." He smiled at her.

"Ten minutes, Townsend." She groaned, relaxing in her chair and taking in his classroom surroundings.

Edward picks up his keys and dashes off, leaving Abby in his classroom. Suddenly her phone buzzed.

 _Isaac: I'm going to be late, I'll catch up with you in a bit if you're not busy (:_

Responding to the text she decided to catch up with him later, she couldn't help but admit that she was curious about what Edward was about to come back with.

Ten minutes later the scent of earl grey fills the air, Abby assumed that Edward was back but didn't realise he had brought piping mugs of tea with him.

"Consider this another cliche english custom, however I promise you it does work." He joked as he handed the mug to her. Abby felt the warmth from his fingertips as they brushed hers.

Sipping her tea, she looked at Edward who was retreating to the corner of his classroom. He grasped a door handle of the end cupboard and opened it, revealing a stack of books.

"Are you going to read me a story now too?" Abby grinned, crossing the room to see what had him crouched over.

"No, but I am letting you into a secret that very few people know about me at this school." He retorted, looking over his shoulder at her, a laugh escaped his lips as he cleared the books to show a mini fridge.

"No way Edward. How crazy is that?" Abby couldn't hold back the laugh that bellowed from her, she could remember laughing for a solid few minutes before she got a stitch in her side. He caught her expression and laughed himself.

"You may find it funny, but I find it very practical-"

"The english teacher that has his own mini fridge hidden in his classroom. That's original. How have your students not found it yet?" Tracing back her steps to her seat, Abby watches as Edward pulls out plates and scones from his cupboard.

"Because I am good at hiding things, Abigail." He winked at her.

"This is too english, tea and scones is too cliche. It probably isn't even that grea-" Edward picked up a freshly made scone and literally shoved it in her mouth.

"Try it first before you judge it Abigail." He rolled his eyes at her and sat expectantly, waiting for her reaction. Picking his mug of tea and bringing it up to his lips.

Abby sat and stared at him directly whilst she chewed her scone. She was determined to dislike the scone, just to irritate him. She hated that she couldn't dislike it. The scone was fluffy and soft, the cream and jam had merged together and contrasted well as a middle layer of the tea time snack.

"It's good." She mumbled quietly, sipping her tea and staring outside of the window. She didn't want to boost his ego more.

"Sorry what was that Abigail?" He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as a megawatt smile took over his face.

"Scones taste amazing, okay?" Abby blurted, smiling herself after seeing the way he looked at her.

"I usually have some tea and a scone whilst I'm marking my student's work for the day before I retire for the evening."

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." Abby muttered, thinking about it herself. Taking another sip of her tea, she looked at her watch and cursed softly. She needed to get on and do her own marking for the day too.

"Why don't you go and grab your work and join me?" He added, opening his draw to produce a pair of glasses which he slipped on and opened his books to mark. His hair was dishevelled which matched his look. His blazer has been left on the end of his chair and his tie has been loosened, his large frames emphasised his angular jawline.

"If that's okay, then sure." Abby replied, picking up her keys and books. Leaving her tea and scone, she headed out of the door to collect her marking.

Edward caught the swish of her ponytail and the swing of her hips as she moved out. She appeared momentarily with her own glasses on and a towering pile of books, Edward felt himself heat up at the sight. Perching herself on her chair, she pulled out her red pen and marked her books, every now and then taking a sip of her tea and talking to Edward.


	5. Chapter 5

Her mind was whirling, honestly she couldn't think about much. She felt guilty holding onto the secret about Isaac and the build up of stress she felt every time she would pass Abby or meet her. Then again, Lucas had said that he needed to speak to her. Whenever those words escaped his mouth, the nerves would bubble over inside of her.

She dragged herself to his classroom after the school had become a ghost town for the evening. The corridor seemed so long, or maybe it was the fact that she was trying to avoid going to see him which was worse.

Placing a hand on the doorknob she took a deep breath and walked in. A bright smile plastered her face when her eyes laid upon him. Lucas too seemed to be swamped by marking but looked up at his globe that sat on his desk every now and then. Trying not to disturb him, she moved softly, leaning on his desk with her head angled- waiting for him to notice her.

"So-" She started, her voice was silky.

"Just one minute Flo, I'm nearly done." Lucas gave her a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Porco Cane!" _For god's sake!_ She mumbles to herself, sighing and running a hand through her hair curly mane, a knot caught in her fingers, causing her to wince.

"Cazzo!" _F***!_ She shrieks as she tries to detangle the knot, to no success.

" _I heard that_ , Florentina Lucca." Lucas laughed, raking his gaze up to see just what was happening.

Florentina was still leaning against his desk, brushing his arm. Her body was faced in his direction, emphasising her hourglass figure with her black dress that brushed her knees. He had always enjoyed her clothing style, she dressed with sophistication, yet it was graceful enough to grab the attention of everyone. He would always overhear students talking about their crushes on the Italian teacher. In all honesty, he wasn't surprised, she was beautiful. The thoughts left his mind when he caught glimpse of her scrunched up face.

Quickly getting up from his chair, he carefully took her tangled handout of her hair and gently removed the large tagle. Light auburn curls started to collect in his hands and the scent of jasmine filled his senses. Her honey eyes filled with a curiosity at the sudden gesture, focusing on his concentrated face, he remained silent.

Finally finished, Lucas tutted and shook his head. A smile small tugging at his lips.

"What am I going to do with you Flo?" He beamed at her, looking down at her.

There he was, making her feel like a child yet again. Well, not a child specifically, more a teenager that was full of hormones and stuttering mess.

"My mama always threatened to cut my long hair if I didn't deal with my tangles." She admitted, a blush painted her cheeks as she played with a stray curl between her fingers.

"I'm glad she didn't cut it, that hair of yours has a personality of its own. It's nearly as charismatic and gorgeous as you are." He noticed the glint in her eyes was one he was well acquainted with from may women, but never her. Her stomach lurched as she felt her face reddening under his stare. She turned away and faced his window overlooking the school field.

 _Did he just say that?_

Florentina hadn't realised that she was holding her breath until her lungs began to burn. Suddenly she didn't feel alone anymore, she could sense the warmth from his body as he drew near to her, also looking out of the window. Smoothing out her dress, she spun around to meet him.

"Sending notes to my students to give to me is new." She professed, dropping down onto a table. Copying her movements, he settled on the table besides her, their knees brushing. He faced her with a stern expression.

"I needed to get your attention somehow Flo." He shrugged his shoulders, searching her face for anything at this point.

"Spit it out, Lucas. This is driving me crazy."

 _You drive me crazy._

"Patience is a virtue, Florentina. Maybe I just want to enjoy your presence for a little while?" He leaned back and looked at the ceiling.

Florentina swung her legs and watched him, her arms crossing over in mild annoyance.

"What is it, what's got you so wound up?" She laughed nervously.

"The conference Flo, you're not bunking with Jenny anymore."

"And why is that?"

"You've been reassigned-"

"To who?"

"My room."

Florentina burst out in laughter at that moment. _Was this really what he was so worried about?_ He straightened himself up. Florentina jumped up from the table she stood directly in front of him and slammed her hands on the table on either side of him. Her face inches away from his. There was that look again that confused him. He wasn't used to her flirting back.

"What's wrong with us sharing a room?" She shot him an innocent look.

"It's not that, it's just the first time that we are sharing a room for the conference-" He fidgeted in his seat, refusing to look her in the eye. Suddenly his tie felt too restrictive, he pulled at the tie and loosened it, unbuttoning his top button.

One perfect eyebrow rose with interest and her mouth curved into a smirk, her eyeline followed his actions and eventually returned to his eyes.

"You're nervous, Lucas." She spoke in a low tone, her voice was raspy. Her lips parted slightly as she registered the toll she had on him. Her body leaned into his, her legs pressed against his thighs as he sat upright. Something flickered across his nervous expression and it vanished as quickly as it appeared. She swallowed when he looked at her with a fire in his eyes.

It all happened in a blur, it was like an unsaid message had been communicated at that point. His arm snaked around her small waist in one fluid motion removing any distance between them. His face inched closer to hers, almost testing her to see if she was comfortable with it. Florentina drew her eyes away from his lips as if she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't. Pushing her away from him slightly, he kept the close proximity between them. Standing up and now towering over her as usual, he craned his neck and brought his head down to her level.

Bringing his free hand up to her face, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Surprised at just how soft her plump lips were and at the idea of kissing the woman he had crushed on since the fateful day they had met seven years ago. Florentina tensed in his arms, he could physically feel it. Taking multiple steps backs from him she looked at everything but him.

"I..Lucas.." she breathed. Her face softened upon realisation of what this meant. She couldn't face him, or this right now. Her head and her heart were confused. Running out of the room, Lucas shouted after her retreating figure.

Meanwhile, Abby and Edward were discussing their opinions about Brexit over tea. The duo were happily discussing the advantages and disadvantages when Florentina ran past with a pale complexion. Abby was sure she could hear Lucas calling out her name in the far distance.

Both stepping out of the room into the corridor, they spotted a distressed Lucas who had a blank look and his hand in his hair, Edward was sure he was close to literally pulling it out.

"Are they?" Abby wondered.

"They've known each other a very long time." He sighed

"Yes, but are they?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Edward's brows furrowed when he looked at Lucas, if he was like this, then what was Florentina like?

Tapping his shoulder and breaking him from his spell, Abby told him that she was going to check on him then head home for the day. The two made their goodbyes and left.

Abby rushed to lock up her classroom. She hurriedly went to Lucas' side, banging on his closed door. Loud music blared from his room and there was no response. The door was locked and Abby grew more concerned with each passing second. Banging the door harder she kept calling out his name. There was still no response five minutes later.

Knowing that she would regret her actions later, she silently thanked herself for her choice of shoes today. Summoning all her strength, she kicked the hinges of the door with a lot of effort. Minutes later she had managed to bust the hinges of the door and pry her way into the room.

Lucas was laying on the floor when she barged in. To her horror he wasn't moving, all she could see as she entered was his tall legs sprawled on the floor. Rushing to his side, Abby took in the scene before her. His eyes were shut and he was still. Abby screamed and roughly grabbed his shirt by the collar, willing him to open his eyes. Placing two fingers to his throat, she managed to find a pulse and instantly relaxed.

"Lucas please, open your eyes for me." Abby pleaded, she felt his forehead and checked for any signs of injury. Cutting off the loud music she sat besides him on the floor and pulled his head up onto her lap.

"See I'm meant to be the clumsy one Lucas, not you." She laughed to herself, playing with the mess of golden curls on his head.

He stirred in her arms, waking up slowly.

"You shouldn't do that Abby, I love when they play with my hair." He mumbled, his eyes opening wide to see her staring down directly at his face. His blue eyes were bright and bleary.

Pulling him into a hug, Abby hugged him tightly, hysterically laughing. Lucas instinctively laughed and hugged her back, one hand holding the back of her head. He was genuinely happy that he could call her a friend of his.

"You scared the hell out of me Lucas! I thought something bad had happened." She stammered, smacking his arm.

"Don't you worry yourself Abby, I'm fab." He beamed, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly.

"I was just relaxing and I guess I fell asleep." He admitted, pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"See, I get that. But what I don't get is what happened. I overheard you and Florentina and she seemed off and you seemed distressed and I was worried-"

At the mention of her name his face faltered, his eyes clouded momentarily and he looked at his watch distractedly.

"Shucks, I promised my sister I'd visit her today. I've got to head off, Abby." Getting the picture that he didn't want to talk about what happened she accepted his excuse and let him get his stuff together.

Making his way to the door, he froze.

"Abby? Don't tell me you-"

"Broke down your door? Yeah I did." She sighed, trying to fight the smirk that was forming.

"You are one c-"

"That best of been concerned friend you were about to say." She interjected, shooting him daggers.

Grabbing her bag, she picked up Lucas' keys.

"I'm driving you home, whether you like it or not. You won't be visiting your sister today, I'm sure she'll understand if you reschedule." She said sternly, not giving Lucas any time to respond.

"Fine, but I could really do with a drink." He groaned, stretching his arms out.

"I'll grab some from the store on the way home."

He was silent during the whole journey. There was definitely something very wrong but he didn't utter a single word. Abby couldn't help but think that if she left him alone he'd do something ridiculously stupid. Settling him in at home, she realised it might've been better if she watched over him at least for tonight, it's the least she could do.

Her phone buzzed, it was Isaac calling. Accepting the call, she walked out of Lucas' apartment and onto his terrace.

"Abby, where are you?"

"Hey babe, look something big came up and it's really important that I stay at Lucas' apartment tonight, I think it would be bad if he was left alone."

"Oh, I see." She could hear the dissapointment in his voice.

"No matter, I guess that means I can go and explore London for the evening, I've been meaning to do that anyway."

"I guess now is a better time than ever-"

"Do you want me to bring you any overnight things?"

"No love, it's fine. But thank you for understanding. I'll see you tomorrow." Abby kept an eye on Lucas who seemed to be burying himself into the takeaway that had arrived whilst she had walked out.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." He hung up on her, Abby couldn't help but feel bad that she had ditched him for the evening but lucas needed a friend right now and she wasn't going to abandon him when he needed her the most.

Hours later, Abby was wearing an old pair of his sweats and a small shirt which seemed to fit her perfectly and was drinking her second glass of wine. Lucas had also thrown his pyjamas on and was nursing a second large glass of scotch.

"Woah Abby, you look better in my clothes than I do. Damn. " He jeered at her, giving her a lazy smile.

"No way, you are super attractive. I can't beat australian people." She bellowed, waving her hand dismissively at him, laughing at the joke.

Devouring slices of pizza and watching Grey's Anatomy was what they did for hours. Both getting more and more vocal with the amounts of alcohol that they had drunk. At one point they were having a dance party on his kitchen countertop with sunglasses on, both convinced they were doing a great Tom Cruise impression from the film Risky Business. The evening went on and they had found they'd finished their bottles and were shattered.

Eventually they found themselves on the floor of his bedroom. It was then that Lucas finally opened up about what was bugging him.

"Hey Abby, you can take my bed if you want, I'll take the sofa."

"No way, that's so not fair. You're sofa is utter crap." She laughed, smaking his arm

"We can share the bed, I trust you won't do anything dodgy anyway, you're a chivalrous guy like that." Abby chimed.

"I'm not a chivalrous guy Abby." His voice of tone changed.

"What are you on about? You're the sweetest guy I know, and to top it off you're incredibly hot too, so that's like a bonus!"

"Thanks kiddo, you're rather stunning yourself." He shot her one of his megawatt smiles.

In her drunk state she could feel a blush coming on. Her face burned, but she was pretty sure it was because she was drunk.

"I made a move on Florentina, and I think I just fucked up 7 years of friendship, Abby."

"Oh Lucas-"

"She was looking at me in a way I'd never seen her before and I really thought she felt the same."

"Lucas, that woman is in love with you."

"No Abby. She ran away from me after I kissed her, a woman that is in love with me wouldn't do that!"

"I think she needs to think about it Lucas. I'm sure she feels the same way. I've seen the way she is around you, and well, we all know how you feel about her."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well she hasn't figured it out yet."

"What's there to think about?"

"Maybe the fact that you're her best friend and she's not used to thinking of you in that way yet."

"Woah, you're good at girls advice Abby."

"It takes one to know one, I guess."

The two chatted about their problems in bed for a while before Lucas dozed off at 2am in the morning. Abby had been waiting for him to fall asleep so that she could make a call. Tiptoeing out of bed, she swayed a bit, forgetting that she was still quite drunk. She wrapped up in Lucas' gown and went out to his terrace.

Dialing his number, she wondered if he'd be annoyed that she was calling so late.

"Abigail?"

"Why hello, McDreamy."

"Hi, wait...what?"

"How are you this fine morning?" Her speech slurred as she spoke.

"You're drunk."

"Yes, one point to McDreamy."

"Are you making a Grey's Anatomy reference?"

"Shhhhh, look I needed to tell you something incase I forget it in the morning."

"Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at Lucas' apartment, don't worry."

"Pardon?"

"Oh no no, not like that. He was in a really bad way when we saw him earlier so I took him home and then we got drunk and he told me what happened."

"What happened?"

"He finally made a move on Flo and she didn't take it too well."

"That makes so much sense!" Edward exclaimed, regretting it instantly. In the background Abby could hear some woman asking him to go back to bed.

"Oh, I didn't realise you were occupied."

"It's not what you think."

"Aha, I knew it, the hot ones are always taken."

"Look it doesn't matter. Just remember what I told you tonight okay? Because I know I'll forget it when I sober up."

"Sure thing. I'll see you at work then."

"Mhm, bye." Hanging up the phone, she hated that she felt her heart pang when she heard another woman with him, but considering it was none of her business, she dismissed the thought and climbed back into bed.

The next morning was everything but good. It was 8am and Abby had a killer hangover, seeing that Lucas was still in bed, she prodded him and watched him stirr in his sleep. It was rather adorable, the sun filtered in and his hair was all messy and splayed out on his pillow. He'd lost his shirt in the night and had a nicely displayed abdomen on display. It's a shame blondes weren't her thing, she thought to herself. Throwing a pillow at him, he shot up, alert and wide eyed.

"Wake up sleepy head, take a shower and then meet me in the kitchen, I'll whip up some breakfast."

"Ugh my head."

"Don't worry kiddo, we're in the same boat here. We've got an hour until we need to be at work."

"Thanks Abby, you really made me feel better. You're an angel."

"Anytime, now go take a shower, you need one."

"Oh by the way, my sister sometime stays round, some of her clothes are in my wardrobe, she's around the same size as you. I figured you won't have time to go home and change so borrow some of her stuff, you two have similar styles anyway."

"Cool, will do." She smiled, flipping an egg in her pan. She managed to spot orange juice in his fridge and flour and eggs. She had just had a great idea.

Twenty minutes later, Lucas appears freshly dressed in brown chinos and a blue shirt matched with a pair of suede shoes. Abby had found a red dress hanging in his cupboard and had slung it on. Even she had to admit, it suited her really well, to top it off she applied some red lipstick she had in her bag and had tied her hair up into a long ponytail.

"Nobody would've guessed that you slept over here and borrowed my clothes." Lucas raised his eyebrows up in awe.

"Thanks." She smiled, signalling him to take a seat for breakfast.

"You cook too? Just marry me now, please." He moaned, taking in the freshly made pancakes that sat in front of him. Handing him a glass of orange juice, she gave him aspirin for the hangover and sat down besides him to eat her own breakfast.

"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment."

"We're a great team, you and I, Abby."

"Yes we are, I actually enjoyed myself a lot last night. We should definitely do that again sometime. Maybe not on a school night though."

"Oh, _Agreed_. Do we have to go in today?"

"You have to face the music Lucas, but remember I'm by your side, if you need anything come find me."

"It's okay Abby, you've been enough help to me. I really appreciate it." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her one of his famous smiles. She winked back and held his hand on her shoulder.

Yet again when she entered her classroom, he was sitting there expectantly. He was sporting a dark green shirt with a slim fit pair of trousers that clung to his toned body.

"You think I'm dreamy." His brows shot up in interest.

"When I said remember what I said, I didn't mean remember the things I didn't actually mean." She laughed, a blush betraying her.

"You were drunk."

"Exactly"

"People are more truthful when they're drunk."

"Whatever." _She won't even deny it?_

"I'm meant to remind you about what you said last night."

"Don't worry I remember it all. You can go." She didn't even look at him, the papers on her desk seemed to be more interesting.

There was a knock on the door and both of their heads turned around.

"Hey babe...oh, morning Edward." Isaac says, walking into the room and placing a small kiss on Abby's lips.

"You look spectacular by the way." He whispered to her, loud enough for Edward to hear. Placing an apple on her table and handing her a coffee she thanked him and started talking to him.

"I'll need to talk to you later Abigail." Edward mumbled. Thinking she hadn't heard him he was by her door when she replied.

"No problems Ed, I'll see you later." She beamed at him and then returned to her conversation.

There were many things that Abby wanted to ask Edward about last night, but none of them could've been asked for no reason. Even if she did ask, he would've never let her hear the end of it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It had been a week and neither of them had been the same. Florentina hadn't even been at work, claiming that she had caught a very 'bad case of the flu', whereas Lucas seemed indifferent.

"She's not sick, she's away at the moment." Edward corrected Abby. Toying with the cup of coffee in his hands, he snuck a glance at Lucas who seemed to be chatting away with Isaac and Ivory in the far right corner of the staffroom.

"How can you be sure of that?" Stumped, Abby rested her elbow on the table, picking at her lunch in front of her.

"We are best friends, naturally I knew everything. In actual fact she has taken an emergency trip to Italy to visit her mother who is gravely ill."

"Her timing is impeccable." Abby muttered.

"Although I can't help but think she is also appreciative of the time away from her problems here." He nodded in the direction of Lucas. Taking a large sip of his coffee, he stood up and grabbed his stack of papers.

"I think it's really sweet that you have been taking on her workload and giving some of her classes." Abby's face softened seeing him struggling to pick up all of his papers.

"Being multilingual has its benefits." He sighed, searching the room for someone. Abby followed his line of sight which landed on a pretty blonde teacher. He flashed her a brilliant smile which clearly registered well with the woman who returned a smile.

 _Who is she and why is he smiling at her like that?_

"Fancy tea and scones later?" Abby interjected the small message that was being exchanged between them.

"Sorry, I have plans this evening." The flashbacks from the week before ran through her head, slamming any ideas she had in the face. She could've easily guessed who he was to her.

 _Wait, why do I care? I couldn't care less who he sleeps with..._

"Sure, i'll take a raincheck." She refused to let him see her falter, she didn't feel hungry anymore. Tossing her half eaten sandwich in the bin, she picked up her drink and sat down with Isaac.

"The conference will be so much more interesting this year." Ivory joked with Isaac, playfully hitting his arm.

"Why's that?" Abby chimes in, trying to get in on the joke.

"Oh, you didn't know? Me and Isaac are bunking together." She laughed, she tossed her black curls back out of her face and flashed him a knowing glance. Isaac simply looked back at her and grinned.

"How great." Her mouth twisted at the way they talked. Her expression closed up, suddenly it was hard to look at them anymore. Taking one look at Abby, Lucas made an excuse for them and dragged her away.

She always found his classroom eccentric. The displays were bright and exciting, exploring topics like glaciers and oceans. His desk was littered with photo frames and miscellaneous items like a stress ball and a toy kangaroo plushie. Dropping down into his chair, she noticed a photo frame that had been placed downwards. Reaching out to pick it up, a hand came out from behind her and took it out of her hands.

"I need to put this one away." Lucas' expression hardened, staring at the frame so solemnly. It was a picture of himself and Florentina grinning from ear to ear dressed smartly.

"When was this?" She glanced up at him, a sad smile on his face.

"Two years ago at Edward and Ivory's wedding." Lucas looked dapper in an electric blue fitted suit with a fitted white shirt. Sporting a pair of Ray Bans on his head. He held onto Florentina by her waist and Abby had to do a double take on it. She was mesmerising in a pink floral dress that left her shoulders bare and clung to her small waist and flared out at her hips in a princess style. Her hair was longer and perfectly curled, a manicured hand was placed on his stomach in an affectionate way. They were striking together.

"We all used to be so close, but when Ivory cheated on Edward, Florentina never forgave her and limits all interactions with her." He pressed his lips together, staring at the photo

"I would put my feelings aside if it meant we could go back to the way we were." He admitted, Abby's smile slipped. Placing the photograph aside, he turned his full attention to Abby.

"Lucas, I have this bad feeling-"

"You think Ivory is going to take Isaac away from you?" He suggested, pulling up a chair and relaxing into it. For a second Abby thought that he was trying to imitate a psychologist.

"How did you know?"

"All of us aren't stupid. Given Ivory's track history, I wouldn't be surprised." The colour drained out of her face and Lucas' jaw clenched.

"Now I cannot completely confirm any of this, you're better off asking Edward himself but Ivory has a reputation for cheating and breaking up relationships." Abby's brows knit together, everything made more sense now. The divorce, Edward's hostility, his reluctancy trusting women in his life. It all fell into place.

 _Breaking up relationships._

"No, I trust him Lucas." Abby forced a smile.

"I'm just saying to be careful Abby, Ivory is a snake in the grass." He shrugged, giving her a 'what can I do' kind of face.

Abby watched his painful expressions and couldn't help saying the one thing that she shouldn't have.

"Flo's in Italy, Lucas. She's not sick." The corners of his eyes crinkled, she could see the reasons forming in his head.

Before she let his mind run wild with millions of wild thoughts, she could see him hanging his head in his hands. Placing a reassuring hand on his back, she whispered.

"It's not you Lucas. It's her mother, she's sick."

"Oh poor Emilliana, I should call her and see how she is-" he scrambled for his phone, producing the iPhone from his pocket and dialing her number.

"Is this really a good idea right now-"

 _Wow, he's on first name basis with her family._

"Hi Flo, look i'm not calling about what happened before. I just wanted to know how Emilliana is?" He scratched his head as he paced the room. Abby's heart was in her mouth as she watched the scene unfurl. She tried to make out what was being said but she only gathered bits which put together made no sense.

"Oh Flo, I'm so sorry. I didn't know-" Her body tensed, _had her mother passed away?_

"Yes of course-" his face seemed at ease, but his eyes darted across the room.

"Oh you're with her? Put her on the phone if you could."

"Ciao Emiliana, mi dispiace sentire che non ti senti bene" _Hi Emiliana, I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well._ He started, looking back at a gobsmacked Abby, she raised a brow at him.

"Come stai mio caro Lucas?" _How are you my dear Lucas?_

" _Sono stato meglio" I've been better._ He replied, he had a lopsided grin on his face. Lucas continued to chat with her for a few minutes, Abby could recall.

But it was when Lucas admitted something she wouldn't have expected that really caught her off guard.

"Tua figlia ora sa che ho dei sentimenti per lei" _Your daughter now knows I have feelings for her,_ he cried.

"Questo spiega perché si è comportata in modo strano." _This explains why she has been acting weird._ Emilliana replied, coughing slightly. In the background he could hear Florentina telling her mother off.

Emilliana whispers, hoping that her daughter wasn't listening. "Lei ti ama, lo vedo nei suoi occhi." _She loves you, I see it in her eyes._

Lucas laughs and says something quietly in response, even Abby couldn't hear him.

Hanging up the phone, he turned to Abby who threw a stress ball at him in anger.

"Since when does this Australian man know Italian?" She barked.

"Since the day he realised he was in love with an Italian woman." He smiles sheepishly, running a hand through his golden hair.

"You are perfect Lucas. She will realise it soon enough." She smacked his shoulder.

"Thank-"

"Like seriously, your Italian was perfect, down to the pronunciation and the tense." She gave him a knowing look. Lucas laughed.

Abby decided to end her lunch break by dropping in and seeing what Edward had to say. As she turned to his door, she could hear the faintest female laugh coming from his room. Stopping dead in her tracks, her grip on the door handle tightened as she crouched over and tried to peer in. Her body started acting on its own accord, leaving her mind reeling as to why she was doing it.

"-It's not how I work Eddie." The female voice said.

"No Maya, that's totally understandable." Edward started.

"I'm happy to make it official, but something's holding you back."

"I...no, there's nothing holding me back."

"What about that music teacher, you seem so smitten over?"

Her heart was pounding in her ears, she tried to focus on the words coming out but her pulse was drowning it out. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. All she knew for sure of was the long pause he took before he spoke the next time. If she was concentrating harder maybe she would've heard the next few words. Instead, she was tumbling into his room.

The shocked expression on his face was burned into her head, followed by the look of annoyance that was clearly painted over the blonde's face. Scrambling to her feet, she dusted off her knees and held out a hand to the woman.

"I am so sorry, I was here to talk to Edward, I didn't realise he was occupied." Abby apologised, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Abigail Cameron, I'm the-"

"The infamous music teacher, yes I know who you are." She spat back, staring at the hand in front of her with a look of disgust.

"My apologies, I've seem to come at a bad time. Please excuse me." Shuffling in her spot, she turned her back on them and left the room as quickly as she could. She was sure she could hear her name being called in the distance, but she didn't dare look back.

"How dare you listen into my private conversation!" Edward barked. Closing the door of her room behind him. The sound of it locking made Abby flinch, her body tensed in the chair she sat in.

His brows were furrowed with worry lines sitting on his forehead. His eyes were strained and tired, focused dead on her. Fiddling with a cluster of papers on her desk, she dragged her gaze away from him and distracted herself with it and tried to ignore his fast approaching furious figure.

Dropping himself onto the side of her desk, he snatched the papers from her hands, forcing her to look at him. Abby swallowed and looked at everything but him.

"Damnit Abigail, Look at me!" He slammed his fist against the table, spilling a drop of her coffee on the table. Having noticed it, she fished for a tissue to clean up the mess.

Grabbing her hand and stopping her in her tracks, Abby shot him a startled look.

"Let go of me, right now." She spoke through gritted teeth.

"Not until I have your full attention." He shot back, his grip tightening on her hand, Abby winced.

"I said let go." Pulling her hand away from his grip, it took everything in her not to slap him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Edward spoke softly, seeing the red mark he had left on her hand which she was now cradling with her other one. His expression switched so quickly it left her feeling dizzy.

"Don't touch me again. You have no right to, nor my consent." She blared, moving further into her chair.

Edward watched her actions diligently, besides the fact that he had just hurt her and was clearly looking afraid, he had locked the door and now she was trying to create as much distance as she could. Backing away from her, he took a seat in a chair across from her instead.

"I didn't mean to hear anything, I was passing by and then I fell into your room." Abby mumbled, staring at her hands.

"Whatever I talk to about Miss Croft has nothing to do with you so please do not interfere." He dismissed her look and toyed with the watch on his wrist.

"But that's the thing, you were talking about me-" Abby looked up and caught his eye.

"Just how much did you hear, Abigail?" Edward breathed in, as if preparing to say something else.

"I can't remember. I was too busy falling into your room. Which I bruised myself by doing, thanks for caring-" She carried on, trying to skate over the issue as much as she could.

"Stop lying to me. I knew you were listening."

"Um no, not everything revolves around you, I genuinely didn't hear much at all." She didn't dare say what she had really heard. Honestly, she still wasn't sure about how she felt about this all.

Little did she know that Edward was telling the truth, he had realised that she was listening. It explained why he had moved and faced the door so that Maya would not realise that she was listening.

Swiftly turning to her door, she reached out for the lock. Second later he was behind her, inching closer and leaning towards her ear. His breath tickling her neck.

"Don't get yourself involved, it's a dangerous game you're playing, Abigail." He whispered huskily, watching Abby's body twitch slightly at the proximity.

Turning around to meet him, she hadn't anticipated just how close he was to her. Looking up to his electric stare, she felt a warmth spread over her as he watched her with a smouldering gaze.

Taking a breath, she focused on the clock behind him.

"You don't have to worry, I'm not interested in you. If you didn't know, I have Isaac-" She said, hating herself as she felt her face reddening.

 _Isaac? Yeah right._

"Why would I care? I'm spoken for. I'm flattered you're interested in me, but it's not mutual" He laughed a deep chuckle. Abby's face scrunched up in irritance, it was hard not to laugh at.

 _The cheek of this man!_

"You're such a pompous, arrogant man!" She seethed, not realising she was shouting.

"And you are a naive woman who can't see the chaos that is about to come upon you." He bellowed, drawing closer to her.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" She shot him a deathly stare. Placing a hand over his chest to push him away.

"If you don't know, then that proves my point-" he slammed his hands against the door at either side of her, forcing her to look at him.

Abby was furious, but her mind was thinking elsewhere. Her eyes wandered down to his arms and now the veins in his arms were practically popping out. The arms that were clearly well built that were essentially holding her in place. Her pulse was going haywire, letting out short shallow breaths, it was the last thing that worried her most. Despite it all, she was drawn to his lips. The stubble that had grown made her think about how it would feel, the roughness of his lips-

 _No, this isn't right._

"Please, Edward-" her voice lowered, her body slumped against the door. She felt as if she had been burnt. His eyes darted towards her body that was arching towards the door.

"-just go." Unlocking the door, she brushed past him to open it. Indicating for him to take his leave.

"This isn't over Abigail." He admitted.

Nodding in agreement, she watched him retreat back to his classroom.

 _This was what she was worried about._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Isaac

I'm sitting on the couch marking papers with a whiskey in hand when she comes in. I hear the unlocking of the door and the jangling of the keys and my eyes are glued to her. The edges of her mouth are sloped and her eyes are clearly strained, but I can see her putting on a smile for me when her gaze lays on me.

Instantly getting up, I reach for the kitchen cupboard and pull out a bottle of wine. Twisting the cap off, I pour her a glass and hand it to her. Abby slumps down on the sofa and takes a deep sigh.

"How was your day?" She smiled, snuggling into the sofa and kicking off her shoes.

My mind flickers back to my day and the one thing that has been dominating all my thoughts since it happened. Myself and Ivory had been working on her PhD work that took up the whole of lunch, but I didn't think she wanted to know about that.

I take a seat on the sofa next to her, and place a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"It was great. Nothing interesting today though." I lie through my teeth, but sometimes it's better to leave some things left unsaid. _After all, it was nothing._ Abby stares at me

Abandoning her glass on the ground, she pulled me towards her in a swift fluid motion, leaving my body crashing into hers; holding onto my shirt with a death grip.

A hoarse whisper escapes her lips. "Kiss me."

All rational thoughts abandon me as she wastes no time in coming into contact with my lips. There was such a force behind it, it left my mind reeling. The next moment I'm being pressed down onto the couch as she lays on top of me- never breaking contact. My hands rests on her waist as she directs her kisses towards my neck, leaving a trail of small light bites down it, my eyes flutter close in response.

It was like my body ignited like a wildfire, every touch seemed to fuel the flames further. My hand runs through her raven hair, tugging onto a fistful and bringing her face closer to my own. Her short hair was a mess in my hands. I can feel her smile against my lips.

 _ **Abby doesn't have black hair my mind screams at me.**_

I pry my eyes open and pull back, looking into her eyes, expecting to see stark blue ones, yet met with confused emerald ones. Dropping the hand in her hair, it fell around her back in a golden mess. She's breathing heavily, as am I.

Peeling myself off the couch, I look back to her to see her face. Her brows were furrowed and her mouth was pressed into a thin line.

"I'm sorry babe, not today." I mumbled, struggling to speak. The pounding of my head thumps loudly in my ears, drowning out what she was saying.

"It's fine" was all I could hear.

I turn on my heel and head straight to the bathroom, locking the door behind me and slumping down the door. She is not what I want to be thinking about. I sit on the floor with my head in my hands, trying to figure out why I thought of Ivy came to mind. Her image was burned into my imagination to the point where I couldn't erase it, no matter how hard I tried.

Abby sat there frozen, it wasn't like him to blow her off like that. Her stomach dropped as she thought of all the reasons why that would happen. She had been ignoring her gut feeling for a while now, but without proof, she wouldn't dare confront Isaac, _not yet_. She didn't feel like eating anymore as a wave of fatigue washed over her. Downing her glass of wine, she dragged herself to her wardrobe, pulling on a pair of pyjamas and diving straight under her covers, falling into a dreamless sleep.

Isaac woke up the next morning to an empty bed. The guilt from the night before had been eating at him, gnawing away at him, leaving him feeling empty. Once getting up and dressed, he had hoped that Abby was maybe in the kitchen, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Abby was content that morning, brewing her cup of coffee in the staffroom. Her eyes darting around the room, attempting to spot Lucas who'd promised to meet her this morning. Giving up, she picked up her cup and wandered outside to watch the students arrive.

Her mind cast back to the events of yesterday. How she had responded to Edward horrified her, sure, she thought he was an incredibly attractive man, but in no way did she think of him in that way. _It's a strictly professional work relationship._ Let alone the fact that the woman he's involved with is worried about her. Or the fact that Isaac was acting funny. Her brain was frazzled and she had found herself caught in a net she couldn't escape from.

 _What have I done to deserve this? I must have kicked a puppy in my previous life or something..._

"Abby!" She could hear him behind her, sighing she turned around and flashed Lucas a smile. Her smile quickly dissolved when she caught his expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you heard the news?"

"Flo, she's back."

"No way!" Abby cried, her face brightening up. _Finally something she can actually help make right._

"Oh my god, there she is." He smacks her arm and points at Florentina walking towards them in the distance. Abby watches Lucas' reaction with curiosity.

Florentina's hair had been cut much shorter, she now styled a curly long bob that accentuated her long neck. Her sun kissed skin shone through and made her face glow, making her look even more angel like than before. Abby was nearly fooled by her appearance that she nearly missed the smile that wouldn't reach her eyes. Accompanied with dark bags that sat under her weary eyes. Styling an emerald dress and flats, Abby was mesmerised by how simple yet stunning she was.

As she drew nearer, Lucas tensed. He swallowed as she approached them, digging his hands in his pockets, he stared down at the ground, as if he had been caught for doing something bad.

"Lord give me strength" He groaned.

"Florentina, welcome back. I hope your mother is well." Abby smiled, pulling her into a hug.

Lucas snuck a glance up to find Florentina's attention focused solely on him. Feeling the heat rise up to his cheeks he ran a hand through his hair.

"How is Emilliana doing? I had a chat with her and she said that she wasn't feeling well, which I knew of course but I hope that she's feeling better now-" He jumped in, speaking very fast. Florentina was silent for a moment, her expression faltered, turning into a weak smile.

"I'm so-"

Cutting Lucas off from saying anything else, she tried to wrap her arms around him and hug him. Stepping away, Florentina bounced back from the rejection. A hurt expression flashed across her face for a second but vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"She is much better, thank you. When you talked to her, it really brightened up her day." Florentina admitted, Lucas stood there tense for a moment before he gave her a small lopsided smile.

Abby felt a chill hit her, it left her wondering whether it was the weather or the ice between the two of them.

"Well, if you need to talk, my door is always open." He emphasised, giving her a strained smile, he backed away, walking away from the two women.

Watching Florentina shiver against the cool spring morning, Abby suggested that they returned inside.

"You have many people waiting to talk to you." Abby joked, bumping shoulders with Florentina.

"Aha, yes. It seems so." She laughed as she felt all eyes fall on her as soon as she entered the staffroom.

Abby caught Edward's eye for a second before she looked elsewhere. Isaac is sitting with a male teacher, clearly deep in conversation But when she enters the room, he notices her, a look of desperation in his face.

 _Lord give me strength._


	8. Chapter 8

She did everything in her power to avoid both of them that day. Besides the fact that her phone was blowing up with texts from Isaac, Edward was dropping her e-mails about meetings, titled 'the conference'- but somehow she knew it was just a trick to get her to open the e-mail and see what he had to say.

Thankfully her students hadn't given her much trouble in her classes today, they were all compliant with her wishes of having a quieter day. Despite her piano class before lunch, the room was filled with students playing different tunes on their keyboards. There was a student in the corner who sat timidly, eyeing his fellow students with fear.

Walking over to him, Abby took a seat next to him. The boy was not much older than 12, his tawny hair was cropped short with amber eyes.

"What's the matter Jacob?" She said softly, trying to not let the others hear her.

"They all tell me not to play the piano because they know I play better than them." He admitted, whispering his response. Shifting in his seat.

Abby's face twisted, looking at the other students contently playing their keyboards, nobody touched her grand piano.

"Show me how you play Jacob."

"Oh no Miss Cameron, I can't do that-"

"I'll give you five house points if you do." She chimed, giving him a grin. Jacob shot her a hesitant look before getting up and making his way to her piano.

Sitting on the small stool in front of the piano, Jacob rolled his sleeves up and felt the keys beneath his fingers. He starting playing a rendition of Fur Elise with such a confidence that flourished with every key he played. Students around him stopped what they were doing and watched him in awe, Abby nearly didn't notice the group of students who were glaring at him from their chairs.

When he came to the end of the piece, all the students returned to their work, whereas one group of boys sniggered and exchanged whispers.

"You play with such clarity Jacob, It's beautiful." She admitted, her face genuinely surprised.

"Gee, thanks Miss Cameron." He smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He looked around and caught the gaze of one of the boys and instantly his face became devoid of emotion. Following his line of sight, Abby gave the student a stern stare.

"You remind me of myself when I was your age, Jacob." Abby crouched down to meet his level.

"If you ever have any problems, talk to me. I'm always happy to help." She watched his grim line fighting a smile.

"Thanks Miss." He says as the lunch bell rings.

Abby had been dreading lunch. Scurrying out of her room into the hallway, she checked for any sign of the two and then slipped into Lucas' classroom. Finding a vacant room was weird to her as she could've sworn she heard him a few moments ago and hadn't seen him leaving his room, yet he was nowhere to be found.

Turning to leave, a laugh erupted from the nearby closet with the door open slightly ajar.

Yanking the door open, she wasn't surprised to see him there on the floor. What did catch her by surprise was the bowl of popcorn that sat besides him as he watched his Netflix show. Lucas looked up and flashed her one of his megawatt smiles that melts the hearts of women, children and animals everywhere.

"You're hiding aren't you." She sighed, sitting down and snuggling up to him, snatching a piece of popcorn from his bowl.

"That's obvious, but why are _you_ hiding?" He shot her a curious look, his mouth twitching into a smirk.

Abby groaned and tried to bury herself into his shoulder.

"It's a long story." She focused on the phone in his hands. Picking up more pieces of popcorn and popping them into her mouth.

"Hey! Don't eat all of it. That's no fair." Lucas laughed, trying to snatch the bowl away from Abby who was swatting his arm away.

"Isaac's been acting funny with me, like he seems so guilty about something and it's affecting our relationship." Her voice strained, she masked the emotion in her voice as well as she could.

"I'm sorry to hear that kiddo, I'm sure that he's just being silly." Lucas pulled her into a bear hug and wouldn't let her go. The waft of the sea filled her senses, making her tense body relax. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back.

"That's not even the worst of it, I'm on bad terms with Edward too-" She started, but the faint sounds of shouting disrupted her. Ripping herself out of his embrace, she stood up quickly and looked out to the field.

"Oh my god." She cried, a hand went up to her mouth.

Her heart felt like it had stopped momentarily. Nothing else mattered at that moment, all she could recall was the speed in which her legs carried her as she ran towards the field. The sound of her heels echoed in the hallway as she passed Edward's classroom on her way out, catching his attention. Throwing her heels off, she sprinted off.

The sounds grew louder the closer she got. Students were huddled around in their masses, egging on the students in the heart of the fight. Her stomach dropped when she saw Jacob in the middle, cornered by the boys that were teasing him earlier. Pushing past the wave of students, her shouting was drowned out by theirs.

"Do you really think you'd stand a chance against us, Dobson?" One boy spat at him, lurching forward quickly. His fist balled up at his side, ready to strike. As he lifts his hand to punch him, Abby jumped in the way of Jacob, shielding him and taking a blow to her jaw. She fell face down into the ground, taking Jacob down with her. The sounds of students screaming 'he hit a teacher' pounding in her ears. With the adrenaline kicking in, her head snaps around so quickly it makes her dizzy. She scrambles to her feet and checks that Jacob is unharmed, his face as pale as a sheet when he sees her face.

He screams when he looks behind her to see another boy fast approaching them with a baseball bat. It was too late for Abby to move now, the recoil of the punch was starting to set in. Her mind was going blurry with spots appearing in her vision, her head was ringing.

Jacob's eyes screw shut as he anticipates the blow, so was Abby's until she heard a sickening snap; followed by a tortured scream.

There he was, his body crumbling to the ground as his leg drops to first, the bat in his hand. Abby springs to her feet and shouted at the top of her voice at the boys. A deathly stare cast over her eyes as the boys stopped dead in their tracks, realising that they'd injured not one, but two teachers.

Edward grunted as he gathered Jacob within arms length of him and thanked his lucky stars when Lucas and Ivory reached them within seconds.

Ivory dragged the boys away from the scene as Lucas dispersed the crowd. Jacob started profusely apologising as he took in the state of his fellow teachers. Abby flashed him a weak smile whilst Edward screamed in agony, cradling his leg, Abby could see a strained vein popping in his neck as he grunted through the pain.

Lucas rushed to their side as soon as the students went away.

"Mate, that's taking you straight to the medical room." He held out a hand to help him get up, Abby lent herself as a crutch whilst Lucas copied the movement on his other side. Jacob leaded them to the medical room where a displeased Angela waited for them.

It all took one look at him for her to say that he needed to go to the hospital. She tended to Jacob next, checking him for any injuries or bruises. When she got to Abby, she smiled. Something that Abby was not accustomed to.

"You saved that boy from a nasty punch." She tutted, putting on a fresh pair of gloves.

"That's quite a shiner you've got there, Miss Cameron." Her face as in her hands, being probed by her fingers. Abby winced at the contact. Edward sat by her side, watching with a grave look on his face.

"I can't say that won't be ugly in the morning. I'd suggest you go for the day. I'll get a taxi for Edward." Angela assured her, Abby thought that maybe she had seemed very concerned at what she had just said.

"I'll drive him to the hospital" Abby offered, giving Edward a 'don't even bother trying to argue your way out of this' stare. Edward sighed, admitting defeat on the matter.

"I'll speak to Miss Lucca, she'll cover your last class of the day." Lucas chimed, patting Edward on the back. Lucas got up and escorted Jacob out, leaving them there.


	9. Chapter 9

Walking over to the car was much harder than she had imagined, she knew Edward wasn't going to be light, but he was resting all his weight on her, she thanked herself for all the strength training sessions she did. Picking up the keys from his pocket, she heard the beeping coming from a black jaguar.

"Nice car" she grunted, opening the passenger side, letting Edward hobble in.

"Thanks for doing this Abigail-" He started, reaching for the seatbelt. His face scrunching up as he rested his leg against the seat.

"I should be thanking you, I could've been on the receiving end of that bat." She scoffed, turning the ignition on.

"How did he get hold of a bat?"

"There was a rounder's game happening nearby, I assume he stole the bat from there-"

"Rounders?" This was something new to her.

"Oh, it's the English version of baseball I suppose." He watched her as she drove, watching her body curve into the seat he usually sits in. He didn't think it was possible to be jealous of an object but here she was, making him think the wildest of things.

There was a silence between them that stayed during the whole car journey, Edward would make small talk every now and then but Abby remained silent for the majority of it.

Once they had settled into the emergency room, Abby went off in search of some snacks. Knowing that they would be here for the next few hours, she desperately needed to find coffee. Edward wheeled his wheelchair towards her and handed her a freshly made cup.

"Cheers." She smiled, quickly turning into a frown as Abby forced the cup back into his hands. Her mind was whirling as the spots appeared and the world around her started turning fuzzy. She stabilised her swaying body by a vending machine.

"You need to be checked out." Edward commanded, grabbing hold of her hand and wheeling her to the reception desk.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm capable of making my own decisions!" She moaned as she tried to break free from his hold.

Edward released her hand and was about to respond when he heard his name being called.

He hated that she sat there patiently for hours on end, waiting with him through his diagnoses, X-rays and casting. She teased the hell out of him for it, he was sure she would never let him live it down. Her warm smile distracted him from the pain until the doctors started probing him.

They were sitting in the waiting room when he hobbled out on his crutches to take a call. Watching him hobble off into the distance, Abby started thinking about the events of today. How Jacob was nearly beaten up by a gang of boys, how Edward had saved the both of them and how he was the one who got off the worst. Her head pounded and her lids felt heavy, she had to force them to stay open as she waited for him to return. Out of the corner of his eye she could see him arguing with whoever was on the other end of the phone.

"Trouble in paradise?" Abby yawned as Edward hobbled back to her. Edward tensed at the words.

"Abigail Cameron?" A nurse called after her.

"Yes?"

"Here's your colleague's medication. Make sure he gets home ok." She smiled warmly at her, Abby felt sorry for the poor nurse who was clearly tired from a long day. The sun was setting as Abby and Edward jumped back into his car.

"You should've gotten yourself seen, Abigail." He turned to face her, taking in her tired face.

"You already know what i'm going to say, so I'm not even going to entertain that with a response." She sighed, ignoring the throbbing pain of her head or the numb feeling half of her face was under.

Her phone vibrated as she drove, picking up the phone from the dashboard, Edward frowned when he saw Isaac's name show up.

"It's Isaac-"

"Yeah, I know."

"Don't you want to take the call?" Abby's grip tightened on the wheel.

"No." The phone in his hand stopped ringing and revealed the high amount of missed calls that she had ignored. He felt bad for staring and was ready to put the phone down and away when he caught the words 'please talk to me' of a text from him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him staring at her phone. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

"Stop it."

Getting the message, he dropped the phone back onto the dashboard and stared out at the window.

The car came to a abrupt stop as Abby took in the house before her. It was bigger than she imagined, with beautiful vintage windows and a small pebble path that was carved out. It easily looked like a three bedroom house. Getting out of the car, she kept a watchful eye on Edward as he walked up. At the door, she looked down at the mess of keys in her hands when Edward spoke from behind her.

"It's the key with the red label on it." He uttered. A muscle in Abby's jaw twitched.

"Right." Edward grinned at the sight.

Upon unlocking the door, the smell of vanilla dominated her senses. The hallway was filled with boxes and items. Photo frames hung from the walls with pictures of him with children and his family. Walking over to the frames, she pointed to the picture of Edward being toppled over with three bright eyed kids.

"They're my nephews and nieces." The corners of his mouth turned up into a dazzling smile as he looked at the photo; turning to him, awe transformed her face as she could see how passionate he was about them.

"They're adorable-" in a flash her smile faded and her hand flung out to grip Edward's arm with a deathly grip. Terror took over his face as he steadied her tightly against him.

"You need to rest. I'll call Isaac and get him to pick you up-"

"No, I don't want to go home. I can't deal with him-" She cried, her eyes scrunched shut as she beared through the pain. Dropping the crutches from his hands, he held Abby in his arms, smoothing her hair face twisted in pain. They both tumbled to the floor as Edward couldn't hold all his weight on one foot whilst holding Abby.

In a sitting position on the floor, his legs stretched out on either side of her as he felt her heavy breathing against his chest. His face turned a shade of crimson as he felt his body yearn in response. Moving out of his embrace, she looked him straight in the eye with tears welling up.

"I'd drop you off myself, but I'm in no position to guarantee I can get you home safely." He swiped away a stray tear that was streaming down her cheek. Her eyes widened in realisation, over what, Edward would never know.

"I need a glass of water-" Abby picked herself up off the floor, lending Edward a hand, "-would you mind getting me a glass?" Her eyes bore into his as he agrees and heads into his kitchen.

Taking this as her chance to freely explore his house, she clambered up the stairs and headed for his restroom.

Locking the door securely behind her, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, eyeing the bluish bruise on her cheek. Her eyes were strained and tired, pulling her hair free from her ponytail her hair fell freely around her. Combing her golden locks with her fingers, she salvaged whatever was left of her mascara on her eyelashes and cleaned any smudged on her lids.

Meeting him downstairs, she straightened her silk shirt and picked up her glasses from her bag. He was perched on a tan sofa when she appeared. His blazer discarded on the size and the first button of his shirt was undone.

"Hey, here's your glass-" Edward lifted an eyebrow at her.

"What's with the look?" She gave him a half-smile before joining him.

"It's nothing, just an observation." He smirked, taking a long drink of his wine.

"If you even start talking about the bruise-" She groaned, smacking his arm, Edward laughed at her failed attempt. Sipping her water, she turned to the bookcase that was bursting with vintage books.

"So you collect literature, huh?" Abby studied the bookcase and pulled out a battered book with an orange spine. Edward watched her with intent, nursing a glass of wine.

"I've always loved Emma, I really think it was one of Austen's understated books." She said, opening the book and flickering through the pages. Landing on a page, she pointed to the exact line she was looking for.

"Perhaps it's our imperfections that makes us so perfect for one another." Abby read, looking to Edward who lay on his sofa watching her with admiration. Despite the pain he was in, she could tell he was genuinely content laying there.

"What food do you like, Abigail?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"What?"

"I promised you dinner, and considering you're here, we may as well have dinner." Edward shrugged.

"Stir-fry" Abby walked over to Edward and took the glass out of his hands, downing the rest of the cup. She took a seat in the kitchen as Edward started getting ingredients out of his fridge.

The duo chatted as Edward cooked a stir-fry. Abby badgered him with questions about his life as he cooked, it all was going well until she pressed him about Maya.

"I've gathered that you understood the conversation and that she is worried about you. No matter how much I reassure her, she wont believe me, and now I can't assure her anymore." Edward refused to look at Abby anymore, busying himself with dishing the food on plates.

"Why, you want to be with her right?" she probed him as they sat at the table, pouring glasses of wine for the both of them.

"She's a splendid woman, but now I just don't know anymore." He stared at his plate, feeling Abby's gaze on him.

"I understand that feeling." She nodded her head in agreement, twirling her fork into the noodles. The smell of the noodles was all she could focus on, he'd done a great job of making it. She hoped it looked as good as it tasted.

"What do you think?" Edward watched her expectantly, waiting for her to say it was horrendous.

"Mhm, just as I thought."

"Oh spit it out already." Edward

"You're a great cook too, what can't you do?" Edward flashed her one of his heart melting smiles and Abby bit her lip.

His eyes were there, watching the way her teeth were caught in her teeth. If he'd break the distance right now, she would give in to him, he realised. Not because she was indebted to him for saving her earlier but because of the electric tension that had been between them from the first day they met. It was obvious that she felt it too, he'd seen it many times now and couldn't continue denying it.

"Edward?" Her voice tore him away from his thoughts.

"If it's not too much trouble, would I be able to stay over tonight? It's just I can't go home right now." _Why am I being tortured like this?_

"I'll stay in one of the spare rooms, I promise I won't be an inconvenience." She pleaded, placing her hand on top of his. Edward tenses momentarily upon the contact, not expecting it and feeling the current take him by surprise.

"Yes, of course." He pursed his lips, faking a smile.

 _How am I going to deal with this?!_


End file.
